The XCOM Viper
by The Imperator 2 you
Summary: XCOM continues to battle even after five years of being re birthed, under the command of it's greatest Commander. Yet while war rages on against Earth's 'guests', another war is beginning to stir. The war for Earth continues, but the war to understand one another is about to begin, as a nervous and fearful Viper struggles to understand her undiscovered feelings toward a ranger.
1. Chapter 1

{Connection made… opening channel…}

{…pssst… _Can you read me…?}_

 _{Good… I don't know how much… I can keep this… secure…}_

 _{These coordinates will help… cause… changed the security… numbers there… you can strike with…_ psssst… _must close… good luck… friend.}_

=Chapter 1 =

=The Viper, the Ranger, and the Gremlin=

=Hawkeye's PoV=

 _{Menace 1-4, we've got hostiles on approach to your position, what's your status on the target?}_

Hawkeye tuned into Central's comms and spoke as quietly as he could into it. "Hawkeye here, I've neutralized three targets in the lobby, but the rookies have all Evac'd out, we have one casualty, it's just me and this Gremlin now." He said. "Target is up ahead, awaiting intel and orders from the Commander."

He looked at the Gremlin that was boosting the signal and keeping their comms from being intercepted, it was just like the Gremlins used by the technicians, but unlike theirs which had all been upgraded to the latest Mk II model, this was just a boring Mk I. Not only that, but it had absolutely no offensive capabilities, that he'd seen as of yet. All this one did was provide visual information and allowed the Commander to make tactical decisions on the spot.

He wondered if the thing could even hack consoles, he had yet to see the Gremlin this close up outside of them jumping from the avenger into missions.

In fact he wondered why the Commander was using this old model now that they've got MK II Gremlins, or even with the MK III engineering is coming out with in a few weeks.

 _{Understood, await orders from the Commander, continue with the operation, hack that intel and get out of there in one piece Menace 1-4, it's all up to you. We can't leave without that Intel, not after our last botched operation.}_

He nodded and looked at the Gremlin as it turned to face him.

 _[Three contacts in the next room, offensive maneuvers, lead with Flashbang Grenade, proceed and target contact on far right with Pistol…]_ It beeped to him.

"Got it Commander." He said, taking the flashbang grenade out and opening the door to throw it inside.

In seconds it went off, and several satisfying grunts sounded, indicating that whoever was on the other side just had a face full of bright light.

 _[Contacts spotted, three ADVENT Soldiers, proceed with attack parameters!]_ The Gremlin said, and Hawkeye jumped in and did as instructed, taking his pistol out and targeting the first Advent soldier on the right, bringing him down in one shot to the head. _[Target center contact with Plasma Lance… Probability kill, 99%...]_

Not needing any further persuasion, he aimed with his Plasma Lance, and the beam shot straight through the Advent Soldier's cranium, dropping him like a sack of grenades. Yet the third contact, though disoriented, took aim at him and fired.

Hawkeye at first expected to be shot clean through, or at least to take a severe burn through his armor, but the Gremlin flew in the path of the attack and took the full brunt of the attack. It dropped to the ground with a heavily damaged front, with the little arms waving feebly and unable to stay floating.

"Well so much for comms." He said, taking aim and counter firing against the last contact, dropping him like his last two friends. "Command, come in…"

There was buzz on the comm before the static began clearing up. _[Menace 1-4, status…]_ Central said before the signal broke up.

"Contacts eliminated, moving to the tar…" He began saying but the signal picked up again.

 _[Forget… target, what's the status… the Gremlin…]_ He said, and he sounded like he was panicking.

Hawkeye looked at the Gremlin as it feebly tried to right itself, but its weak little arms couldn't lift itself. "It looks like it took a bad hit, doubt the thing will last long, should I proceed with the operation?" He asked, wondering why Central was worrying over a hunk of outdated junk now.

 _[Get that… outa there… repeat… get the Gremlin… of there Menace 1-4!]_ Central shouted frantically. _[Don't let the Gremlin be destroyed… repeat… get the Gremlin out of…]_

As he began losing the signal again, the Gremlin poked an antennae up and cleared the signal, but this time the message came from the Commander. _[Continue with the mission… Hawkeye… get the Intel… get out… that's an order.]_

He looked to the Gremlin and then awaited confirmation from Central. "Command?" He said.

 _[You heard the commander, continue with the operation, but get that Gremlin out in one piece, don't let it take any more damage. That's your top priority Ranger, get that Gremlin out without it taking any more damage! Protect it at all cost!]_

With that the comm cut out, and Hawkeye shook his head as he picked up the damaged Gremlin. "Why do I gata save you now, must be nostalgia's sake." He said as he advanced through the room to the console. "Alright let's hack this thing, sorry but I need to put you down for a sec little guy."

He put the Gremlin down and pulled out his hacking tablet. Within seconds he was inside the Advent database and began downloading the files they came for. Then he heard a clunk sound from somewhere in the room.

He held still as he listened carefully, after over thirty missions under the Commander's leadership, he had earned a name for himself. He also had one of the sharpest ears in XCOM, and he put all of his hearing into what he was listening to.

At first he heard nothing, but with how dead silent the room suddenly became, he heard what sounded like something 'sliding' across a surface.

There was only one alien creature that he knew of that slid across any surface, a Viper.

There was still one more contact left that the Gremlin seemed to have missed.

(Viper's PoV)

She stayed as still as she could hiding behind the pillar, begging to the laws of the universe that she had not been heard.

Why did she have to come _here_ of all places to study some of her venoms that she found in the South American region. Of all the clinics, hospitals, anywhere that had the necessary facilities to study her specimens, it had to be one that the insurgents were targeting?

' _ **I don't stand a chance against this one…'**_ She thought fearfully, clutching her standard issue Beam Rifle as close as she could. _**'He ripped through those three advanced Advent Soldiers like they were nothing… and they had full body armor! What am I going to do against him?'**_

She like her sisters, were all armed similarly with standard issue armor and weapons, they were all nimble and agile and had the use of their poisons to deal with any threat. But after witnessing the firepower and skill of this one insurgent, who she witnessed bring down three other protectors including the three in that room, what she had seemed feeble by comparison.

She like others were ordered to fight to the death, to defend whatever the insurgents wanted with their lives. But right now she could care less if they got what they wanted or not, all she wanted was to live to see another day. She wasn't even assigned to this post, she just came here to examine some vials of poison.

As she listened intently she heard the human finish something and say something quietly to whoever or whatever it was talking to. "Mission accomplished, package secure…" He heard him say.

' _ **Please just leave, please just leave, please just leave!'**_ She thought hopefully, not moving from her position in the hopes that he wouldn't notice her.

She heard footsteps now and hugged the wall even tighter, clutching her beam rifle even closer to her chest plate. If he spotted her now, she was as good as dead.

Then he came into view, and luck was on her side, he had his back to her as he took cover behind a desk in the room. _**'If I just remain silent and don't move, he'll go away… just stay still and don't make a sound… and he'll go away!'**_ She thought hopefully, watching him the entire time he was there.

But then she noticed that he wasn't just holding his weapon, under his arm he was also carrying what looked like one of those little flying robots that she had seen some reports about. It looked damaged, and he was carrying it protectively under his shoulder.

But while the Human hadn't noticed her, the little robot did, and it was staring right at her…

 _[Contact… spotted… Viper Class]_ It stated in a feeble, synthesized voice.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

 _[Contact… spotted… Viper Class]_

The moment he heard that he spun around and readied his Plasma Lance, aiming straight at the target behind him. His guess was right, it was a Viper that he had heard earlier, but this Viper seemed to be different than the ones he was familiar with.

While they knew from various autopsies that this species of the Aliens were predominantly female, as their very noticeable breasts on their chests indicated, this one seemed to be a different variety of Viper. This one had a slightly different colored scheme to her scales, instead of the usual yellow, her scales were more orange.

But he wasn't interested in what made her different, he was more interested in the Beam Rifle she had pointed at him.

He stared at her, waiting for any indication that she would fire, but he hesitated in firing first because of one single thing. Her hands were shaking ever so slightly, and while he wasn't an expert on the alien's physiology, he could swear that her eyes looked terrified.

 _[Menace 1-4, do you copy?]_

"This is Hawkeye, I read you loud and clear Central…" He said carefully, not taking his eye off the alien or his finger off the trigger.

 _[Menace 1-4, get out of there, repeat, get out of there! Advent forces are almost on top of you and we have battleships on approach to our position, get that Gremlin and yourself out of there! The Avenger can't stay here much longer, get out now!]_

"Copy that…" He said, before he cut the transmission.

But still he could not bring himself to kill this new contact, a part of him told him to kill her, but another part could see the fear in her eyes and the shaking in her hands. She was obviously not going to shoot first, she was too afraid to do so. But the other part of him remembered his orders to protect the Gremlin at all costs, and this Alien had a flank on him, if she fired and hit the Gremlin…

The Gremlin feebly moved to get a better look at the alien, and began creating a strange hissing sound, matching the Viper's language. _[Hssshash… shemash… koomashessh]_

At hearing the Gremlins words, the Viper looked between it and him, still trying to keep the weapon trained on him. But after a few moments, it nodded nervously and lowered its weapon.

 _[Evac… now…]_ The Gremlin ordered in the Commander's voice.

"Understood sir…" He said, lowering his gun and walking backward out of the room, not taking his eyes off the Viper as she watched him leaving.

Only after she was out of his line of sight did he turn and make for the window, busting through it to grab the rope of the Evac vessel, being pulled up and into safety as it began to leave the area.

(Viper's PoV)

She watched the human leave, but didn't move until she was sure he was gone. Then she sighed and leaned against the wall again, her tail sliding out as she collapsed to the ground. She dropped her rifle and shook her head in disbelief.

" **I'm still alive…"** She hissed in amazement.

She looked back at where the human had been just feet in front of her, weapon raised and about to shoot her, and thought about him and the little machine he had been carrying. _**'How did it know how to speak my language?'**_ She thought, curious now that the danger had passed.

 _[Lower your weapon… if you leave us be… we will leave you be]_ It had told her, and while she wasn't sure if the little robot was speaking the truth, she was willing to take any chance to live.

So she had lowered her weapon, and just as the little machine had promised, they left her alone. **"Mercy… they gave me mercy…"** She hissed. **"Why did they grant me mercy? Did they not want to waste their fire? Were they low on time? Why spare me when they didn't hesitate to kill the others?"**

Shaking her head of those thoughts, she rose to her full height and mounted her rifle onto her back, before making her way out of the facility.

" **This is the last time I want to see any resistance forces…"** She thought sullenly, counting her scales lucky that she escaped that encounter alive.

She had heard from her sisters of how many have fallen in this war, it had been dragging on for years since the upper species began the AVATAR project. She only knew that they needed large numbers of humans for the project, and she was glad that she wasn't any more important to warrant more dangerous positions. But their project has diminished in progress by over 98%, almost to a complete standstill.

As she left the facility and made her way toward the living quarters, wanting to curl up and sleep after this horrible day, she looked over at news station that was broadcasting the latest 'wanted' individuals.

Each day more and more humans were starting to side with the resistance. While the majority of this world's population still sided with Advent, she was starting to wonder…

It was just a sliver of a thought, a sidetracked concept, which continued to pester her like a loose scale in her tail.

' _ **Could they possibly win… these humans…?'**_ She thought again, and once more thought back to the human who had spared her life, at the request of that little machine he was protecting.

If they had warriors as strong as him, with as much skill, a part of her believed that her sisters and the higher species in their alliance might actually lose.

Then she shook her head and once again the question she had asked about while in the facility. _**'Why did they spare me?'**_

(Hawkeye's PoV)

Hawkeye watched the technicians in engineering working frantically to repair the damage done to the Gremlin that he had saved, and kept asking the same damn question, over and over again. Why is 'this' particular Gremlin so damn important?

"Nice job saving the Commander's Gremlin 'Hawkeye'." Central Officer Bradford said, watching the technicians and even Shen, working on the Gremlin.

"Sir, may I ask you a question?" He asked bluntly.

"Well, I suppose since I gave you hell about getting that Gremlin back in one piece, I suppose you want some answers about it?" He asked with a frown.

"Correct sir, why did you order me to forget the mission objective when it was right in front of me, in favor of getting that outdated hardware out in one piece?" He said angrily. "I lost a rookie out there today, two other rookies are in the infirmary, and the only other veteran with my squad, Eagleeye, is recovering from near fatal wounds. You and the Commander didn't put as much emphasis into getting 'them' out as you did with me getting that hunk of junk, out in one piece!"

He expected Bradford to get all higher officer on him, reprimanding him and threatening to demote him for questioning orders. But he didn't, he nodded and looked back at the Gremlin. "Follow me…" He said quietly.

So he did, he followed him to the staircase and they went down to the lower level, where the infirmary was. They walked to the infirmary and Brad pointed at him to look through the window.

Hawkeye looked inside and saw the rookies, Eagleye, and the Commander inside the infirmary as well. But the Commander was in the full body recovery pod, with the doctors watching his vital signs like his life depended on it. "What I'm about to tell you, does not leave this hallway without 'his' permission, is that understood?" Bradford said.

"Yes sir…" He replied, now even more confused.

"When we first recovered the commander and removed the chip the aliens implanted him with, we removed him from their network, taking away all of the information and tactical knowledge he had accumulated in twenty years of stasis." Brad said calmly. "When the Commander learned of this, he asked Dr. Tygan to see if he could, reprogram and retrofit that chip, repurpose it for 'our' uses. It took him a full year, but we managed to repurpose the chip for our own purposes. He had two chips created, one for himself, and another for an officer, and he had Tygan destroy all information on the project so nobody would know. The only ones who know, are myself, the Commander, Tygan, Shen, and now you."

"I fail to see the significance sir…" Hawkeye said.

"The chip's purpose is to allow the higher up individual linked by the chips to allow simultaneous exchange of information and relay instructions and commands to those lower in the chain. That's how Advent controls its forces, we did the same thing, but on a much smaller scale, and with a volunteer. The Commander is that volunteer." Brad said as he began walking back to the staircase, signaling Hawkeye to follow him.

"Wait, you said there was another, an officer, but you said the Commander was the only volunteer… so who's the 'officer' who has this chip?" Hawkeye said, something not making sense.

Brad didn't respond until they were once again in front of engineering, where Shen was putting the finishing touches on the repairs to the Gremlin, it looked better, but it still bore the scars of the blast it took. "You're looking at it." Brad said at last. "The Commander's Gremlin, his personal Gremlin is using the other chip."

"Wait… your saying that's how the Commander has been able to give us such clear instructions, such precise orders?" He asked in amazement.

"He's been using all of that information that the Aliens were using against 'us', against 'them', but in a much faster and more indirect means then the way they were going about it." He said with a nod. "But it came with a side effect that we learned about after the chips went online for the first time. The two are linked, the Commander can share his thoughts with the Gremlin's onboard computer, and it takes all of his knowledge, all of the information it gains from the field, condenses it in milliseconds, and together they come up with the most effective battle strategy on the spot for whatever situation we face!" He frowned and shook his head as Shen scratched the Gremlin, with a look of relief on her face. "But, as you've seen just now, if either one of em is damaged, the other suffers as well. The feedback effect damaged the Commander's brain thanks to the chip inside of him now, and that's why you saw him in the infirmary. He almost died on the bridge Hawkeye, he almost died saving you so you could complete the mission."

"What are you saying, I know I was wearing Predator Armor, but I could have survived a blast from that trooper!" He said.

"Not according to the Gremlin's data…" He said, handing him a tablet that showed an image of Hawkeye about to be fired upon, with numbers and calculations frozen in place. "According to the Gremlin's calculations, if you had been shot at that distance, without proper cover, the chance of you dying was an almost 99.8% certainty. He threw himself to keep you alive… you owe your life to the Commander. He overrode the Gremlin's protocols that we put in to keep it safe, and made it take the hit for you, it calculated that if 'it' took the hit, the chance of it being destroyed was only a 37% chance. We're lucky it had the extra armor we put on it before we began working on the MK II's."

"So why keep this old hunk of junk… if that chip is so important, why not upgrade to a more protective shell?" He asked.

"If we pull the chip out of the Gremlin, while the Commander is still linked to the onboard computer, we'll lose the Commander the same way we almost lost him just now." He said. "Tygan and Shen theorize that if either one of the chips are lost for whatever reason, short circuit, shut down or destroyed, then we'll lose the Commander. He'll be brain dead if that happens. Normally we've never had to worry about it before until now, because the Gremlin has always stayed at a higher altitude, so it could gather information and direct you better."

"But I was the last one… and it followed me so it could help me complete the mission." He said, looking as the Gremlin began flying again, albeit more shakily with the technicians watching it carefully.

"We couldn't afford to fail this mission, that data you retrieved helped us greatly for our next target. I just wish the Commander hadn't taken such a huge risk." Brad said in frustration. "Right now the Commander is in a coma, Shen says the Gremlin's safety protocol kicked in at the last second, and downloaded the Commanders entire brain into its memory through the chip. As of this moment, that Gremlin is the Commander."

"You're kidding me right?" He asked. "We're going to be taking orders from a Gremlin now?"

"You've been taking orders from a Gremlin for a few years now, what makes now so different to before?" Brad asked quietly, leaving to let Hawkeye watch the Gremlin steady itself.

As he watched, the Gremlin steadied itself and began flying normally, but then it turned to look at him and waved its little arms in 'hello'. Then it flew over to the door and opened it, beckoning him inside.

 _[So I take it you've been told?]_ The Commander's digitized voice asked him as he walked in.

"Yes… Commander." He said, having to speak very respectful toward the Gremlin that was now his superior, and the sole reason they've come this far in their war to free their planet.

As much skill as he had, as well as the others in the Avenger, for all of the advancements and everything else that he and the rest of XCOM have accomplished. None of it would matter if the Commander hadn't lead them this far. He's saved many live thanks to his tactical decisions, but he's also lost as many. And now he owed his own life to the Commander, if he hadn't taken the hit, he might not have completed the mission and lived to tell the tale.

 _[Well, now that we're alone…]_ He said, looking to Shen and the other mechanics who had left, but Shen gave him the thumbs up before locking the door. _[I have a question I want to ask you…]_

"By all means Commander, ask away." He said.

 _[Why didn't you shoot that Viper back in the facility?]_ He asked as the Gremlin turned sideways to mimic a curious look.

"Well sir… she didn't seem dangerous at the time…" He replied nervously.

 _[She had a beam rifle pointed right at your head.]_ He stated. _[Believe me, I calculated the angle the moment she raised her weapon, so my question stands, why didn't you shoot her? You were ordered to protect this Gremlin 'at all cost', yet you didn't shoot her.]_

"With all due respect sir… she was not as 'dangerous' as you think she was." He said. "I saw how she was holding her weapon, and I saw how frightened she was, she also hesitated to shoot me. She seemed more afraid of us, then she looked like she wanted to shoot us."

The Commander's Gremlin was silent as it watched him, before it nodded, or at least pretended to nod. _[That's exactly what I calculated as well Ranger.]_ He said. _[You see Ranger, this Gremlin calculates everything into 1's and 0's, and probabilities are nothing but signals to it. What makes it different than what Advent uses for its forces, is the 'humane' element that 'I' add to its calculations. I saw the fear in her as well, she was terrified for her life, and I could tell she only wanted to survive.]_

"What did you tell her Commander, if I may ask?"

The Gremlin spun for a second before it replicated the sound from before. _[Lower your weapon… if you leave us be… we will leave you be]_ He translated. _[I hoped she would let us go, in favor of us sparing her life… by granting mercy… we can turn the tide of this war.]_

"You think she or any of her kind would join us? They haven't exactly been signing up with the resistance forces Commander." He said skeptically.

 _[This Gremlin calculated a 0.001% chance of that happening Ranger… forgive me I haven't uploaded your name yet to replace the word, it's not easy making this adjustment… but while the Gremlin believes as you do, that they won't join, the 'human' in me believes that 0.001% chance is worth it.]_

With that, the Commander's Gremlin floated over to the door, unlocked it, and left the engineering room.

(The Commander's PoV)

The Commander floated into his quarters, and over to the keyboard to punch in the commands to call the council member, whom he has chosen to not identify the name of for security's sake. Within five minutes the screen changed and became distorted, to prevent anyone from identifying his face.

 _{Commander… I take it the reason that you are calling me on this secured channel, via this Gremlin, means that the Gremlin's safety protocols have activated?}_

 _[Yes Council, I have entered into a coma after the Gremlin took damage, as such, my brain has been downloaded into the Gremlin's body. As of this moment, this Gremlin will serve as my new temporary body while my real body recovers.]_ He said. _[I still can function as Commander of the XCOM forces, but my outward appearance is going to take some getting used to. On the positive aspect, now that this is my new body, I can work against our 'guests' twenty four seven, provided I recharge the Gremlin's battery every six hours.]_

 _{That hardens my resolve to know that you are still in the fight, despite the loss you suffered this day, but I doubt that this call was all you wished to speak to me about.}_ He said calmly.

 _[No Council, I am calling to propose to you a new plan of action, an 'Operation, in the making', as it were.]_ He said just as calmly. _[As you know, this war since I have taken command has been dragging on for over five years now. The Alien's resolve to break us has not diminished, and Advent's forces have only grown in number, as our research has told you. Meanwhile, our resources and manpower, as well as support from the various resistance splinter cells, has grown weaker with each passing month.]_

 _{This I am aware of, despite your best efforts, and your numerous victories against our visitors, including all but destroying their AVATAR project, I have noticed an increasing drop in resistance forces willing to fight.}_

 _[Yes, and as you have requested, I have kept that knowledge secret, if word got out that we are fighting a losing battle, despite our high morale, what little resistance Earth has left will crumble over the next few years. Soon XCOM will be crushed, and the resistance will end… I have done all I can to turn the tide, but it seems defeat is inevitable.]_

 _{Which once again, brings us to why you have called me.}_ He finished for him.

 _[I have a plan that might turn the tide of this war.]_ He said finally. _[Earlier today, when the Gremlin took damage, resulting in my current situation, a Ranger under my command and myself, encountered a female Viper. She hesitated in attacking us, apparently out of fear for her life. In other encounters our enemy never hesitated to attack us, but this one did… I have a feeling we can use this to our advantage.]_

 _{Explain…}_ He said, cupping his hands together in deep thought.

 _[I believe, we are starting to have an effect, I believe that we are beginning to put doubt into some of the alien's belief in conquering us. With this female Viper, we allowed her the choice, if she lowered her weapon, then we would spare her. She chose to let us go Council, if she had fired and delayed us for even a moment, then we might not have escaped in time. But our act of mercy… might have had an effect on her.]_

 _{You mean to turn one of their own against them?}_ He simplified for him.

 _[Correct… if we can turn even one of them against them, it may be the domino that tips the balance in our favor. Think about it, if word spread that one of their own sided with the resistance, more humans would begin to see through the lies of the Speaker's propaganda. More would join the resistance… the Alien's hold on the world's population would begin to weaken.]_

 _{I see… the concept of, the tighter the grip, the easier it becomes to slip through… does sound like an interesting prospect to exploit.}_ He said with a nod. _{Very well Commander, I trust you to carry out this operation, good luck.}_

As the screen turned off he sighed again, wishing he had hands to rub his head. _[How am I going to explain to the crew about this?]_ He contemplated, wishing he had a mouth and stomach as well because he seriously needed a stiff drink after all of this. _[Can't even think privately without this Gremlin speaking it. This is going to take some getting used to…]_

(Viper's PoV)

' _ **Why me…?'**_ She thought fearfully as she stood at attention in the center of the dark room, listening to the higher up members of the alliance debate among themselves what her punishment would be.

Once it was discovered that she had been at the facility and failed to stop the insurgents from accomplishing their goal, she had been summoned to speak of her failure. Now she merely sat there waiting, hoping once again today, that they would at least let her live. Advent did not tolerate failure or betrayal, any found guilty of failure had either better be dead or have a very good excuse.

Or be a member of the high council, which she was not.

 _ **[My fellow council members…]**_ The Hierarch Mother, her species' leader declared, silencing further discussions. _**[My young daughter's fate falls under my jurisdiction… as you all very well know… so I will handle her punishment. Rest assured… she will not fail us again…]**_

The others agreed and soon only one image remained on the various screens, the shadowy image of her hierarch. _**"Hierarch Mother, I beg you to spare me… I was but one against their fearsome warrior! He took down two entire guard squads singlehanded, all of whom were more armed than I was… how do you expect me to repel such power?"**_ She pleaded.

 _ **[Silence…]**_ She hissed, but even though it was an order there was a gentleness in her tone. _**[I understand entirely… you could no more have stopped them then you could cut off your own tail… be at ease, I do not blame you in the slightest.]**_ She hissed while shaking her head, but her expression on the screen could not be seen because it was in shadow. _**[Despite their anger for your failure, I would prefer you living my daughter and letting the insurgents succeed, then bear another death to our species.]**_

At that she was confused, her hierarch mother didn't mind that she effectively let the insurgents go? _**"You don't mind?"**_

 _ **[Each day my young daughter… our numbers dwindle… the repeated attacks against and by the insurgents have reduced our numbers ever more. Like the Sectoids, we Vipers have become to the elders, in the words of the humans… 'Cannon fodder'. We are no more valuable to the alliance than the Advent clone soldiers are. Our objectives in conquering this planet has gotten to the point, where all of our past rituals no longer exist…]**_ She declared, and now her voice was filled with distaste. _**[Nearly all of your brothers… are dead… and they do not care that they take even more of our brothers and sons from us. They were so few before we joined them and now they are almost all gone.]**_

 _ **[Your sisters are sent into battle with orders to not relent or retreat, but for each insurgent they manage to slay, we lose at least three sisters to achieve it. That does not even count for this floating fortress that rallies and inspires the resistance to even greater heights… we have lost so many of your sisters to that group… that just thinking of the number alone causes me grief…]**_

" _ **And yet our goals become ever closer… right?"**_ She asked. _**"We are on the verge of victory, so I am told."**_

 _ **[Perhaps… but the price is becoming… too high for my liking…]**_ The Hierarch Mother hissed angrily. _**[In any case… I have to deal with your punishment, as is my duty. I can spare your life… but you still must be punished for your failure… there is a convoy heading out to a city in the Eastern North American region. You will guard it with others and protect it from insurgents… and my daughter…]**_

" _ **Yes… Hierarch Mother?"**_ She asked worriedly.

 _ **[There can be no failure this time… I cannot protect you a second time...]**_ A moment later all of the cameras shut off, but her leader still remained. _**[But no matter what happens to the convoy, don't die… no matter what you must do, live… for your sisters…]**_

With that the last screen turned off, leaving her alone in the darkened room. _**"Yes… Hierarch Mother…"**_ She said, before slithering out of the room.

=Author's Notes=

Q/A: Imperator here, and yes… I know what you're saying… why are you doing this fic, when you're already working on two other fics that you've been doing for longer? Not only that, but why XCOM 2, and why 'this' particular pairing.

Well to answer that peeps, it's because a friend of mine let me play XCOM 2 on his pc and knows about my writing hobby, and so dared me to make a fanfic, involving a Ranger of his and the (in his words) rule 34 bait, but make it a believable love story. Personally I think he just wanted me to make one.

So yea… that's why I'm doing this. I hate you friend, making me delay my Arceus' Book fic and my Pack of Destiny and Life fic. But don't worry, even with my school schedule, I will find time to write those two as well as this new one.

Have faith in me my loyal followers and readers, The Imperator always delivers to you, I may be slow but I always find a way.


	2. Chapter 2

{Connection made… opening channel…}

{…pssst… I must be brief…}

{There's a c… oy… heading out for… tomorrow…}

{Carrying supplies that would… benefit your… cause… contact our 'friends'…}

{Not sure how… the guards will… their catching on… must close the channel… good luck… friend…}

{Connection terminated . . .}

=Chapter 2=

=The Seed of Doubt is Planted=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"And so in short, until further notice, the Commander will be giving orders directly to us via this Gremlin, as per usual." Central Bradford said to all of the soldiers as they sat around on the boxes and crates in the weapon's storage room. "Are there any questions?"

The Commander had called them all today to explain why he was no longer going to be moving around the ship as normal. But then again only a few of them ever spoke to the Commander personally, and the rest of the time they only heard him via that Gremlin. In fact some of the female sergeants and corporals were all smirking and grinning to themselves. Apparently there had been a big bet going around between the male and female soldiers as to the Commander's gender.

He hadn't participated because he knew the Commander personally, same as Eagleeye. So they didn't have to give up their share of desert when they all found out.

' _Sucks to be the guys now, the ladies had all bet the Commander was a guy.'_ He thought.

Hawkeye glanced over at the others and waited for the obvious ones to raise their hands after Central finished speaking, and sure enough, 'Puppy', their youngest recruit, put her hand up first. "I got one chief, where is the Commander again?" She said. "I wasn't paying attention…"

Everyone chuckled at Puppy's question, but Hawkeye shook his head in disbelief, being the youngest had certain benefits, such as inexperience and immunity to scolding from Central. Next to him 'Eagleeye' shook his head as well, but with a chuckle added to his disbelief.

"Why do puppies have to be so cute?" He whispered as Central gave Puppy the cold stare before she smiled awkwardly and backed down from her question.

"Cause puppies need to learn discipline." He said to the grizzled forty seven year old veteran, having fought for XCOM for over twenty seven years, and one of the other few remaining soldiers from that time who knows the Commander personally.

"You're too rough on puppy." He said with a smile. "So she's a bit on the clueless side, just means she's all the more adorable to have around."

"Why do I think the Commander brought her on board because he overheard you wishing we had a puppy on board?" Hawkeye asked as the Commander moved forward to address them.

 _[To answer your question… again… Puppy.]_ The Commander's Gremlin said in his digitized voice, getting everyone's attention. _[This Gremlin and me are one and the same, but make no mistake, just because I'm stuck in a tiny body one fifth the size of you all, does not mean I am in any way less capable to lead the XCOM forces. I expect the same discipline and respect you gave me before my… current condition… occurred.]_

He floated forward and looked at all of them one by one. _[I have led you for five years since I was given my position again, and in that time I have led you to the best of my abilities… some of you I've known since day one…]_ He looked at Kelly, nicknamed 'Sharptooth' for being a skilled blade ranger, and she nodded back respectfully to him. _[And some of you I'm just getting to know…]_ He looked at Puppy as she gave him wave of her hand. _[And there are some that I have lead… to their deaths… and each one burdens me more heavily than the one before to make sure no one else suffers such a fate.]_

At that he turned and activated a holographic display, and displayed faces and names of past soldiers, warriors who sacrificed their lives under his command. The most recent one was one of the rookies, Alfred Zamingo, a recruit from South America, dead because the Commander didn't notice an Advent Officer had a grenade on him.

 _[Make no mistake… this is no time for silliness or a change of command, we need to stay focused if we're to win back our home!]_ He said seriously, turning back to them. _[To that end, I have received two new missions that will be tackled one after the other, starting in half an hour! Squad Gamma Raptors will assemble in the armory for their weapons after this, and from there head to board the Skyranger. Central will debrief you there and I'll join you as per usual. Everyone else, dismissed!]_

"Yes Sir!" Everyone shouted as the six members of the Gamma Raptors squad began quick marching down to the armory, while the other twelve went down to the mess hall to eat.

As they entered the mess hall the first thing the ladies did was talk to the chef to see what was on for desert, while he and the guys grabbed their plates for dinner. "So only three of us stayed out of that bet?" Hawkeye asked as he, Eagleeye, and Sharptooth grabbed their meals and desert before everyone else.

"Yep, I already know the Commander has a sausage, no need to steal extra desert because of that knowledge." Sharptooth said with a grin.

"So what is today's desert?" Eagleeye asked as he smiled at the lump of cake in front of him.

"Double Chocolate Cake with real strawberry filling!" Puppy shouted excitedly from across the room, making all the guys groan.

"Ouch… not every day we get 'real' strawberries on the menu." Hawkeye whispered with a grin, taking a spoonful of the mush that was his potatoes.

The three of them dug into their dinner while the rest of the gang got theirs, the guys forking over their deserts to the ladies and separating into their squads.

He, Eagleeye, Sharptooth, along with three others, 'Falcon', 'T-Rex', and lastly Puppy, were all members of Squad Land Sharks, the Commander's best team.

Falcon's real name was Gregory Johnson, from Alabama, and was a bird watcher before joining XCOM after the United States joined the Advent Alliance. He was one of their Rookies that volunteered to become Psi Operatives last year, and since then he was assigned to the Land Sharks. He was normally a quiet one, but whenever he had something serious to say he spoke with absolute clarity.

T-Rex was from the Jamaican Islands that had also joined the Advent Alliance, and he was the team's Grenadier. His name was Amani Amos, and he worked a flower shop before joining the XCOM forces after the Commander sent the Land Sharks to liberate his home town. Hawkeye knew he was a smooth talker, and always found a way to cheer everyone up, even when a mission was going sour.

Puppy, a fifteen year old Asian American girl who volunteered to join XCOM after they came into contact with the resistance cell in Eastern United States, was assigned to the Land Sharks after proving her technical aptitude with the Gremlins. Or at least, she showed more interest in them than some other Rookies, but she was still a Rookie and had yet to earn a name for herself besides 'Puppy'.

She was also the youngest operative in all of XCOM, and because of that, everyone thought of her as a cute little puppy, and everyone felt responsible for keeping her safe, especially Eagleeye, who Hawkeye noticed never missed a beat when it came to cheering her up.

Eagleeye was a veteran from the old XCOM days, when the Commander led them against the first invasion. He is often referred to as 'grandpa' by the younger members because he is almost as old as Central Bradford. He was the Shark's Technician, and his Gremlin had become known as 'the one that never failed'. It has hacked so many consoles that it almost automatically hacked into the Advent Network every time nowadays. He's even had the same specifications updated from Mk I to Mk II, and was waiting for the Mk III's to finish so he could transfer his Gremlin's database into the new body.

He himself was called Hawkeye because he had once been a Hawk handler, and out of all of them had the sharpest eyes when spotting and hearing movement, a trait he picked up from his Hawk. He had joined XCOM after Advent shot his bird when it was in mid hunt, under the 'excuse' that it was spying on their forces for the resistance cells.

In truth he owed Advent for inspiring him to join XCOM, and making him so valuable to the resistance.

Kelly, or Sharptooth, was one of those who recovered the Commander from an advent facility, along with Central. After she became a Ranger, she became a top notch shot, but her true skills lied in her steady hand and high skill using the blade. She became a full-fledged member of the Land Sharks after slicing up an Archon single handed on one mission, and going on to complete the objective while the rest of the Land Sharks were pinned down.

They were always the ones to go on the difficult assignments, they were the Commander's 'A Team', the most reliable bunch on the battlefield to get the job done.

At least on the battlefield that's how they were, but off the field, they were so casual it made some wonder if they took their jobs seriously.

"So I was studying your Gremlin Eagleeye, and I was wondering when am I going to get my own?" Puppy asked as she finished eating her desert. "I mean, I've been on four missions now, surely I've earned a promotion after that!"

"You'll get your promotion when the Commander deems you worthy of it." Eagleeye said calmly as he drank his coffee. "When you get a confirmed kill you'll be promoted, that's how it works for Rookies."

"But how am I going to get a kill confirmed when you guys get them all the time!" Puppy whined while the rest of them drank their coffees or water. "All I've got to work with is a standard Rifle, you all have fancy shotguns and pristine plasma lancers, upgraded shredders and incendiary grenades! Not to mention those new Wraith suits and Predator armor and more than two years combat experience compared to me. All the Commander gives me for my loadout is a stupid Medkit that we don't even need half the time, and Warden Armor so I can carry another Medkit, that we don't need the 'other half' of the time!"

"Hey, you're the Rookie on the team Puppy, you'll get your kill when you get one." Sharptooth said with a chuckle as she ate her second slice of cake. "For now, you just support the big guns on the team, but don't worry, you'll eventually get a name for yourself."

"For one so eager to take charge of the living, you have no concept about what it means to take charge of your own life." Falcon said as he ate his potatoes. "Take to the knowledge that when you claim a life, you end that which the universe deems precious…"

"Ooooh, Falcon's being all super monk here…" Puppy shot back.

"Falcon's got a point Puppy, don't be so eager to kill at such a young age!" Eagleeye said, patting her on the head to get her to stop poking Falcon. "Just take it easy, when you finally earn your kill, you'll be promoted, just wait and see."

"Until then little dog, you must remain calm and clear in your mind…" Falcon said wisely, drinking his water, not allowed coffee because he was a psi operative. "The commander is patient, learn from his example and be patient yourself."

"The Commander is also a Gremlin now, and he only barked orders…" Puppy complained. "Talk about a promotion…"

"Don't you be worrying your little head little girl!" T-Rex said with a chuckle. "The big guy knows what he's doing, he'll give you a promotion soon alright? Till then just remain as calm as a clam, and work on getting your first kill little lady."

"Also stop messing with Eagleeye's Gremlin. That would help your chances as well!" Hawkeye said angrily.

"Ah, don't mind Hawk Puppy, my little bird doesn't mind if you poke around his noggin." Eagleeye said with a chuckle, handing her his slice of cake because he didn't want any. "Tell you what, I'll show you how to operate him when we have time off tomorrow. That way when you get promoted you'll be steps ahead of the other Rookies! How's that sound?"

"Alright!" Puppy said happily as she dug into the cake. "Thanks grandpa!"

"You spoil that pooch too much." Sharptooth said with a sigh.

"Hey, she's our Puppy, someone's gata keep an eye on her!" He said back with a grin.

"I still think the Commander just let her on board because you wanted a puppy." Hawkeye said, which made everyone giggle and laugh, except Falcon who merely remained indifferent.

"Hey guys, the Gamma Raptors have just landed!" Someone from the second squad, the Water Dragons, shouted as the screen turned on.

"I hope they all make it back today…" Puppy said worriedly as they watched from the Commander's point of view, the action taking place. "The only Rookies left besides me are on the Gamma Raptors, after we lost one of our Rookies on that last mission. And who knows when we'll be able to pick up more volunteers."

"I'm sure the Commander will find volunteers to join us soon!" Falcon said calmly. "We have yet to fail a mission in over a year, there's no way nobody hasn't heard of our success."

"Yea, now let's watch and see how the Gamma Raptors fair out there!" T-Rex shouted.

"Looks like it's another data infiltration mission." Eagleeye said as the rookies took the lead with one of the vets on the team. "Seems the Commander isn't taking any chances this time, he's leaving the two rangers behind on the highway to spot and provide cover, providing support for them with the Technician who's staying between them and the ones in the lead. The Grenadier is leading with the Rookies to get the data and get out fast."

After several minutes they saw the Commander's view suddenly zoom out, just enough to spot a trio of Advent advanced Lancers on patrol. Then the Gammas began taking cover to keep from being spotted. Once the patrol passed they proceeded forward, the Rangers still keeping watch but also advancing, but far more slowly so they were on top of the buildings with the height advantage. Then the Commander zoomed in on their target building, and scanned inside to see a pair of Mutons and an Andromedon guarding the target.

"Ouch… that's going to be tough… I hope the Gammas can handle it." Hawkeye commented, wondering if perhaps the Commander should have sent the Water Dragons or even them instead of the Gammas.

"Come on Rookies… get your kills… you can do it!" Puppy said as she watched the rookies taking aim at the Mutons, while the Grenadier readied a Plasma Grenade to fire.

After a signal from the Commander, the Grenadier launched the grenade into the building, landing it squarely in the center of the patrol. Then as the trio of enemies began to spread out to avoid further damage, the two Rookies took aim and fired on their targets. Both scoring major damage but still not killing any of them.

"This aint looking good, all three are still up…" Sharptooth said. "And that much noise is going to attract attention, the alarm's probably blaring on all channels.

"Yea, what was the Commander thinking?" Eagleeye asked as the three aliens began firing back, before two powerful shots struck both Mutons dead center in their heads. "Oh… that's what he was thinking…"

The Commander's view of the field changed to show both Rangers reloading their shots and giving him salutes to confirm their kills. But the Andromedon marched out, unafraid of the attacks and fired at one of the rookies. Both rookies were still injured from the previous mission, but they were still ordered to report to the armory. So when that Rookie got hit everyone jumped in fear that maybe he had been killed, yet he took his position again while the other rookie fired in retaliation.

"Commander is taking risks with the Gammas, the Rookies aren't fully recovered, they may snap from the pressure." Falcon whispered. "It's not like him to take risks…"

"You have to take risks, we all have to take risks, and if he isn't willing to take risks then we won't win this war." Hawkeye said. "Remember the briefing, now that his body is in a coma that Gremlin is in even more danger than it was before. If the Commander is shot, even by accident, there's no way he'll survive. He's taking an even bigger risk just by being out there with us as usual, so he can command us himself."

As he spoke the Grenadier finished off the Andromedon, but the shell began coming to life after the death of its occupant. Both Rookies fired their shots at the shell, but it took the combined power of the two Ranger's rifles to finish the job. Finally the Technician caught up with the leaders at last, and sent his Gremlin in to hack the database, after fifteen seconds his Gremlin came out and he gave the Commander a thumbs up.

They had finished the job.

"Alright they did it!" Puppy shouted as the Gammas called for Evac.

"Well looks like Puppy still gets to hang out with the Rookies." Sharptooth said with a giggle. "No kills for them either."

"Good to know." Hawkeye said as he went back to finish his coffee. "Ima head back to our room guys, need to feed Vivi."

"Remember, the Commander has another job when he and the Gammas get back, don't take too long!" Eagleeye said as he got up and left.

He went down the hallway and to the staircase which lead to the different levels of the ship, and went down to the next floor where the squad's rooms were. After being divided up into their squads for so long, the quarters were renamed after each squad, or position, that each crew had. The Gamma Raptors quarters had a picture of a raptor on their door, while the Water Dragons had a picture of, well a dragon. As for the land sharks, they had a shark on theirs.

It wasn't the cleverest decision, but it was how they separated each other. The scientists and engineers and everyone else had their crew quarters as well, only the Commander had private quarters at the top of the ship.

He opened the door to the Land Shark's quarters, and walked past the three Bunk Beds toward the end of the room, where sitting in a large tank, was Vivi. Vivi, the Land Shark's pet Cobra. "Hey Vivi, miss daddy?" He asked as he reached into the cabinet beneath her tank to get her food.

The snake merely hissed and slid her tongue out to taste the air, before lazily slithering over to a rock.

"Yea I know, just give you your food, I hear ya." He chuckled as he pulled out one of the rats that they somehow kept finding on the ship, out of a container for her and dumping it into the tank.

He watched as she eyed the rat as it ran around the new environment, and she coiled up and waited for it to wander over to her.

Vivi was a King Cobra, one of the many species of snake on Earth that Advent had nearly killed off, her species was now considered endangered. With all of the Advent Cities being built in their habitats, her species was slowly dying out. So as part of their effort to at least preserve some of their planet's past, he had convinced the Commander to let the Land Sharks keep Vivi as a pet, until they found a male King Cobra that could mate and breed with her.

Until that happened, she stayed in their quarters in her tank, sunbathing and eating the mice and rats that made their way into the ship.

All the squads had pets in their quarters, the Water Dragons had some fish in their room, and the Gamma Raptors kept an Iguana, but the Land Sharks were the last to get a pet for their room. As for why they chose a snake, well he had been the one to find her, almost stepping on her as they were retreating from a Black Site facility. Recognizing she was a King Cobra, and knowing her species was going extinct, he had been the one to take her back amid blaster fire.

He of course, was the last one to make it back, and almost had been shot down. The Commander and Central weren't too happy to find out that he had risked his life to rescue a snake, especially since one of the alien species resembled earth snakes. But The Commander had been lenient, and only made him clean all the rifles as punishment for risking his life to delay the Evac shuttle. As for the snake, he had found a tank for them to put her in, and they filled it with stuff suitable to her environment, and since then she's been a part of the Land Sharks squad.

 _{Attention Land Sharks squad, report to the armory for weapon and armor refitting, repeat, attention Land Sharks squad, report to the armory for weapon and armor refitting!}_ Central's voice declared over the coms.

"Always when I'm enjoying some quiet time with you Vivi." He said as he put the lid on the container of live rats, throwing in some food to keep them alive. "Enjoy dinner Vivi, be back later!"

(Viper's PoV)

She hissed nervously as she fingered the trigger on her beam rifle, while the two Archons levitated nearby on watch.

The convoy carrying supplies had only been on the move for a whole day, and already it had been hit just a few hours from their destination. The insurgents had struck them hard and fast, destroying parts of the road and blocking traffic to keep the convoy from moving.

She and the others protecting it had pushed the rebels back, killing a few of them in the process, but their losses had been equal. Yet she had survived, not claiming any rebel deaths of her own, but at least fighting back as expected.

' _ **Why can't I go a day without something bad happening to me now?'**_ She thought bitterly as she realized her life had taken a huge turn for the worse. _**'All I wanted to do on this planet was study venoms… there are so many species of venomous snakes on this planet! I just want to examine them all!'**_

She had only really been on this planet for three years, unlike some of her other sisters and the rest of the advent alliance, she was only recently posted to the areas where the resistance were becoming more bold and aggressive in their attacks. For the first two years she had been there, she was assigned to one of the few remaining teams studying the planet and all it held.

Her Hierarch Mother had assigned her to examine the venomous snakes for their toxins, for use off and on the battlefield. Their old planet, before they joined the 'Elders', had once been vibrant with life… many species sharing their own physiology, but they had all left it when it became clear that the Elder's plans no longer needed their planet, or what remained there.

She deeply missed it, she was one of the last few of her kind that had been born on their home world. She missed the star that had warmed their planet so easily, the sandy ground that covered most of it, and the many cool and smooth rocks that they used to soothe the aches and pains of their scales by rubbing against them… especially during their shedding seasons.

She glanced at the two Archons and they ignored her, as they did with all lesser species unless ordered to notice them. They were the bio-machines created by the alliance to pacify and fool the humans of the planet, making them believe they were gods or deities. They worked quite well at making the humans believe in their godhood, and making them welcome them onto their planet with open arms.

' _ **Or at least… most of them.'**_ She thought nervously as she heard what she thought sounded like engines roaring in the distance. _**'I just hope we can get going, and not have to contend with more insurgents!'**_

Among the two Archons guarding the convoy were several advanced Advent Soldiers, an advanced officer to lead them, two more Archons and a Pod walker.

Then there was her, the oddball guard, sent to join the convoy as punishment. _**'Why did my Hierarch Mother have to send me to guard a convoy, that would be targeted by insurgents… was my failure truly worthy of this punishment?'**_ She asked again, looking around nervously and once again checking the condition of her rifle. _**'All I did was stay alive… was it a crime to want to live? There was nothing I could do to stop them before, is my death the only way to amend for such…'**_

She stopped thinking as she saw what looked like flames flying toward their convoy in the distance, not noticed by the Archons as they weren't even looking in that direction. _**'Please let that just be a pair of Archons joining us…'**_ She thought fearfully.

She had just avoided dying to one group of insurgents, she didn't need to fight another group, and especially if this was the same group that assaulted the clinic she had visited which caused her current position. _**'They granted me mercy that time, they won't grant it a second time!'**_ She thought fearfully, imagining how her death would come.

Would it be swift and sudden, with no pain like the many Advent Soldiers that were sniped through their heads? Would it be slow and painful, with her body being riddled with bullets from a shredder and being left to die from blood loss? Or would one of their most fearsome warriors, the ones who fight like their Lancers, using a deadly blade in face to face battle, be her demise?

Would they slice her hands off or her head, would they slice through her body cleanly or bloodily, would she even be recognizable when it happened?

Would she even see the face of her killer?

All these thoughts merely drove her to clutch her weapon even closer, and pray to the stars that they could get going soon. All she wanted was to live, she didn't care if she was forced to watch some corridor for the rest of her life, or if she was confined to a cell for being cowardly. All that mattered to her was that she just wanted to live. There was nothing she really cared about concerning the higher up's plans, the Elders can do whatever they want with the humans, as long as she could just examine the venoms of this planet and sunbathe once in a while, she was happy just to live on some corner of this world.

' _ **They took what value our world had, why not just let us live in a corner on this one?'**_ She thought bitterly, her fear swaying slightly in favor of her anger. _**'Actually, now that I think of it, the insurgents can have this convoy… anything that hurts the Advent even a little can ease my sorrow.'**_

The moment she thought those traitorous thoughts, she shook her head and put her thoughts straight. Such thoughts would surely get her killed, and she remembered her Hierarch Mother's orders, her private and higher orders.

 _ ***No matter what happens to the convoy, don't die… no matter what you must do, live… for your sisters…***_

She hissed nervously, eyeing the two Archons as they looked around, watching for threats, again ignoring her because they already knew she was there. The Advent Alliance cared not for its minions, nor for its soldiers, who risked their lives for them. The Advent Soldiers they created a dozen of for every one lost, were nothing but tools they can throw away at any time.

But her loyalty was to her Hierarch Mother, who commanded and ordered all of her sisters and brother, and through her the Elders.

She would live, she would live as she requested, and no matter what she must do she would live.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

 _{Resistance forces hit this convoy hard, and reported it was carrying lots of cargo that could greatly benefit our cause. Information suggests that there are Archons and a compliment of Advanced Advent Troopers, as well as a Sectopod guarding it. Land Shark squad's assignment is to clear out the guards and call in when the area's secured.}_ Central said to them, showing an image of what looked like a line of Advent trucks stuck in the middle of a traffic jam.

"We always seem to get the fun jobs huh?" Sharptooth said with a sigh as she polished her Plasma Lance. "Gamma Raptors get an easy trio of two Mutons and an Andromedon, while the Land Sharks get Archons, Sectopods, and Advanced Troopers. The joys of being the best."

"Hey, someone's gata do the tough jobs." Eagleeye said as he checked the levitation pads on his Gremlin, making sure they were all fully charged. "You can't honestly say you'd rather have the Water Dragons do this instead?"

 _[Thank you Central, with that out of the way, are there any questions?]_ The Commander asked, bringing everyone's attention back to the mission.

"Yea, I've got a question Commander!" Puppy asked instantly. "How come I'm the one stuck with this stupid Warden Armor, two Medkits and a standard issue Rifle, while the rest of the sharks all get Plasma Weapons, EXO Suits, WAR Suits, and cool grenades? When am I going to get a new toy?"

Hawkeye shook his head at Puppy's complaints, but this wasn't her fault, mostly, she was still a Rookie and therefore didn't get access to the best gear because they didn't want to lose any of it. Supplies were hard to come by, and they blew through them quickly when they got them, so every piece needed to be given out according to rank.

That and nobody trusted her with the high end gear because she was also so young, and some thought as very immature.

 _{I'll let you handle this sir, drop off is in five minutes!}_ Central said, and the transmission cut.

The Commander's Gremlin shook slightly, apparently in disbelief. _[When you earn your promotion Puppy, until then, that's what your job is, providing support for your squad.]_ He said. _[I'll work on getting a kill for you, but remember your job on the squad, support.]_

"I'd do better with Predator Armor or some grenades!" Puppy complained as the light turned orange.

 _{We're in the pipe boys, five by five, drop off in two minutes, saddle up and get ready to move out!}_ The pilot said over the coms.

"Alright Land Sharks, you know the drill. Everyone at home is watching us on the big screen!" Hawkeye said. "Let's keep it clean and keep it short, no heroics and going off on our own! Follow the Commander's Orders and let's get this job done and go home!"

"Yes daddy." Puppy said, sounding thoroughly annoyed as everyone got up and prepped their gear. "Does Grandpa have to hold my hand as well?"

"Wouldn't hurt to do it." Sharptooth said with a giggle. "If you prefer though, we can always just put a leash on you and tie you to a tree!"

 _[Cut the chatter Kelly.]_ The Commander said, taking point as the light turned green. _[Move out!]_

The back door opened as the Skyranger came to a stop, and ropes were let down from tail end. Everyone ran forward and grabbed the ropes, sliding down them as the Commander flew to a higher altitude so he could survey the area.

As Hawkeye landed he trained his weapon and looked around for any threats while the rest of the squad began to land and take positions. Once they all hit ground, they moved into a standard two by three formation, awaiting orders from the Commander.

=Author's Notes=

Isn't puppy just the cutest?

I hope she makes it… Rookies tend to be scapegoats in peoples playthroughs, or so it seems to me. But I really don't want to see Puppy get blasted.

And don't worry your little heads, our lovely Viper and Ranger will get together eventually, after all, a love needs time to grow and bloom into a beautiful flower.

Also… isn't Puppy just so darn cute?


	3. Chapter 3

{Connection made… opening channel…}

{…psst… Advent… tightening grips on… the city citizens…}

{It's getting… to position allies… for strikes…}

{…I'll gather more… for your… contact… me later when…}

{They're beginning to track… I'll connect again… good luck… friend…}

{Connection Terminated . . .}

=Chapter 3=

=The Power that 'Mercy' Grants=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

The sun was beginning to set as they all ran forward, pausing when they reached their assigned positions that the Commander sent them via their optical lenses they all wore on their helmets. The lenses showed the terrain in a grid format, with highlighted squares indicating where they had to go, or what their orders were. He could even see what the others were doing according to the Commander's orders, and all of it in real time thanks to the Gremlin being connected to all of their helmets.

 _[Puppy, move to grid 34-B, assume hiding position and enter Overwatch.]_ The Commander said over the coms.

"Alright, alright…" She said as she ran forward, keeping light on her feet and taking cover behind a tree, right in front of Hawkeye.

 _[Eagleeye, advance to grid 52-D, sprint forward and provide visual confirmation on the convoy!]_

"Got it." He said as he sprinted forward, and suddenly everyone's screens showed what his was showing, as well as the Commander. "Target's spotted, two Advent Troopers and an Officer patrolling. Seems like we got dropped off at the front of the convoy!"

"Great, which means the heavier guys are either in the middle, or near the rear!" Puppy complained bitterly. "If these are the light weights, how am I going to get my kill?"

"Stow it Puppy dog, Commander's giving me orders to set up a nest on the nearby cliff overlooking the highway, so stay sharp so I don't need to cover your tail." Sharptooth said over the coms, and Hawkeye saw that the Commander was giving him orders to move up a similar cliff overlooking the convoy, but he would have to cross the highway traffic jam to get to it. "Wow, you get the fun job of running through parked traffic, lucky bird."

"Stow it Sharptooth…" He said, before the Commander gave him the all clear to sprint across to a safe location.

He followed the pathing the Commander laid out for him accordingly, while he began to give T-Rex and Falcon their orders, pushing up slowly with Eagleeye while Puppy stayed in her overwatch position.

"Come on Commander, let me take point with the others!" Puppy complained when she was ordered to advance toward another tree two feet in front of her, and enter overwatch once again.

"Just do what the Commander says Puppy, you'll get your chance eventually." Eagleeye said when he was told to advance forward as well, but toward a much closer position to the patrol.

Hawkeye meanwhile got orders to climb up to the ridge and prepare his nest, so he did, climbing the ridge quickly and efficiently. Once he climbed up he got a good view of the convoy, and once he did he transmitted what he was seeing to the others, and the view didn't look nearly as good as it looked before.

"Wooo… look at that big guy." T-Rex said as Hawkeye zoomed in on the Sectopod. "Probably rocking the standard heavy armor compliment as well as heavy cannon fire. This is ganna be a fun night in the sunlight."

"Two Archons… how are we going to ambush them?" Falcon asked calmly. "If we ambush the troopers now… we'll not take the bigger targets by surprise."

"Can I ambush one of the troopers?" Puppy asked before the Commander began distributing new orders to them.

He was ordered to target the officer, and Sharptooth one of the Archons. Moments later T-Rex was ordered to target the group as a whole with an incendiary grenade, Falcon was to target one of the troopers with a Null Lance, and finally Eagleeye was to use combat protocol after T-Rex made his move.

As for Puppy…

"Overwatch again?" She moaned. "Come on Commander, I can shoot just as good as the others! Let me have a chance!"

"Get ready sharks… it's time to kick the tires…" T-Rex said over the coms as he loaded the grenade into his launcher, raised it, and let it go. "And light the fires!"

The grenade flew through the sky, completely ignored by the troopers, and landed right in the middle of them without any of them noticing. Exactly two seconds after it landed…

-Kaboooooooooom-

" **Graaaawr!"** All three of the troopers shouted, but the officer recovered instantly, looked in their direction and raised an arm.

" **Kerimanosh!"** He shouted, before pointing at T-Rex.

Instantly all three began to take covering positions, but Hawkeye open fired on the officer before he could get into cover, bringing him down with a single shot to the head. Meanwhile, the Commander ordered Puppy to overwatch fire one of the soldiers who broke for cover near the car.

"Finally, first kill here I come!" Puppy shouted as she came from behind the tree and emptied a clip into the car, scoring only a graze. "Oh come on, just a graze? This is why I need a better gun Commander! Just let me have something better than this standard issue rifle!"

"Puppy get back in cover!" Eagleeye shouted as his Gremlin targeted the soldier she hit, while Falcon released a powerful psionic purple beam from his amplifier, finishing off the other soldier.

"Watch out guys, we got incoming!" Sharptooth said over the coms, and Hawkeye saw her vision showing the Archons and Sectopod turning to look at what was happening, before moving to intercept them. "Right between the eyes."

Sharptooth fired and put a shot between the eyes of one of the Archons, but she couldn't kill it one shot because of the armor. **"Shusthaaaaaaaaaassh!"** They all heard him roaring as he swung his lance gun around angrily.

"Oh, someone's mighty mad!" Sharptooth commented as she reloaded her gun and was ordered into pistol overwatch.

"You sure know how to tick people off Sharptooh." T-Rex said as he pulled out his Beam Cannon and open fired on the approaching Sectopod. "I've shredded some of the armor, take the shot Hawk!"

"Taking the shot." Hawkeye said when the Commander ordered him to.

He hit it squarely in the side, and it wobbled for a moment, before re-correcting its position and beginning to open fire on T-Rex and the others.

At least that's what they thought who its target was, but a moment later they saw what the Sectopod's real target was.

"Ahhh!" Puppy screamed as the bullets flew right past her position, barely visible.

The shots ripped up some of her cover, but the tree protecting her remained firm and absorbed the attacks that otherwise would have hit her. Yet Hawkeye could see how close those shots had been, even without aiming directly at her, the Sectopod had almost struck Puppy. They all had the higher end armor suits to protect them, so they could endure some of what Advent could throw. Yet Puppy was stuck with the outdated Warden Armor, it couldn't endure or protect from most threats they faced, let alone the full focused fire of an Advent Sectopod.

Once the attack ended Puppy looked around nervously, trying not to expose herself as per the Commander's orders to remain in overwatch, but the situation was starting to get to her now. "I'm not sure how much longer my cover will last!" She yelled as she clutched her rifle as close as she could to her.

"Hang in there Puppy!" Eagleeye shouted as he punched in some commands and ordered his Gremlin forward. "So you wanna hurt our little Puppy huh, well let's see how you like it when my bird takes flight!"

In seconds the Gremlin flew over the Archons and began hacking into the Sectopod's AI, a successful beep later and it assumed the passive position, indicating its offensive and defensive programming were offline temporarily.

"HAH, not so tough now are you?" Eagleeye yelled.

"Nicely done, now let me break their will…" Falcon said as he let off another psionic attack, targeting the Sectopod's legs and damaging it further. "Nobody… threatens… the Land Shark's… Puppy…"

In response to their concentrated fire on the Sectopod, the Archons began charging their position, just as Hawkeye spotted reinforcements approaching. "We got more troopers approaching, and two more Archons as well as…" He began saying, before he spotted what he thought was a Viper, before he blinked, and then he didn't see it again.

"What else, what did you see, I missed it?" Puppy asked instantly.

"Nothing else, just focus on the targets we have in front of us, worry about the reinforcements later." He said, before taking his own advice and retargeting the Archons.

(Viper's PoV)

Viper saw the blaster fire with the other convoy defenders, and knew that the insurgents were back, and were attacking the forward guard.

" **The forward guard is under attack, all forces proceed to destroy the insurgents!"** One of the Archons shouted as the Pod walker began moving off in the distance.

' _ **All of us?'**_ She thought nervously, wondering how strong were the resistance that they could force four archons, three advanced troopers, and a Pod walker to where the fighting was. She didn't include herself because she was almost nothing compared to the troopers stationed guarding the convoy.

She slithered behind the Archons, more to the side near the woods that bordered the road whereas the Archons stuck to their formation, and stayed near the convoy.

As she spotted where the fighting was, she saw beams of plasma and powerful explosions taking place near the woods, and watched as the Pod walker fired off several shots, before becoming passive and no longer attacking.

For a moment she assumed it was because they had finished off or driven the insurgents back, but no, another plasma blast smacked the side of the Pod walker, and all it did was sit there. _**'They've shut down a Pod walker?'**_ She thought fearfully as one of the Archons with the walker took a direct shot and went down, while the other charged forward without fear or hesitation. _**'How am I supposed to help fight these insurgents with basic armor and a beam rifle, when they can bring down Advent's mightiest weapons of war?'**_

In her hesitation the Archons had left her behind, and began retaliating with long range shots against where the rifle fire was coming from, completely ignoring her as she stopped moving. Taking her chance she slithered into the forest and out of sight, trying to think about what to do.

Meanwhile the Archons were still advancing, only now there were psionic attacks being used primarily against the Archons from the Pod Walker. As she watched she spotted where one of the rifle shots were coming from, and saw that she was apparently not the target yet.

' _ **If I can get behind them… perhaps I can rid myself of my punishment and future punishments!'**_ She thought hopefully, though in all honesty she was hoping the reinforcements would finish them off long before that happened.

She slithered on through the woods, making sure to keep to the cover and not making too much noise or attract attention.

Then the plasma shots began changing direction, targeting the Archons that she had been accompanying, while the explosive shots were still targeting the Pod walker. But she managed to slither even closer still to the source of one of the shots, without being detected as of yet.

' _ **Either that… or they don't see me as a threat worthy of their notice…'**_ She thought.

As she turned though, she heard shouting, and looked out of instinct over to the highway and saw that she had actually been closer to the fighting than she realized. She could see one of the insurgents with a floating machine just like the one she encountered at the clinic. The human it was accompanying had been flanked by one of the Archons reinforcing, and he had been shot point blank.

"EAGLEEYE!" She heard a feminine voice scream out.

As she turned toward the source, she saw just hidden behind a tree, a young female human wearing what looked like basic armor and wielding a basic human rifle.

For a brief moment, she was completely enamored with the young girl, shocked that a female human so young would be fighting. At first she thought it must have been a mistake, perhaps it was a Faceless in disguise, but no, she rounded the tree and fired at the Archon, barely scratching his armor, before two blaster shots from the ledges struck him, bringing him down in one shot.

But she ignored the rest of the fighting, because she could not believe that someone so young, so frail looking, was fighting against some of the most powerful soldiers the Advent Alliance could field to guard a convoy. She looked like she had only the most base of equipment, and yet her determined expression, seeing her comrade in danger, seemed only to drive her further to fight for him.

' _ **Are all of the resistance forces… this determined?'**_ She thought.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"I've been flanked!" Eagleeye shouted over the coms as one of the Archons charged him, dodging Sharptooth's shots as she needed to reload her primary weapon.

The Archon pointed his weapon at him, and fired point blank into Eagleeye's chest.

"Gah!" He yelled over the coms as the Commander ordered him and Sharptooth to train weapons and focus the Archon.

"EAGLEEYE!" Puppy screamed, panicking and breaking her Overwatch orders and firing recklessly at the Archon.

 _[Puppy, return to your position, resume overwatch!]_ The Commander said as calmly as he could, but even through the Gremlins synthetic voice filter, Hawkeye could hear the slight panic in his words. _[Sharptooth, Hawkeye, open fire now on target!]_

"Gladly!" They both said, and synchronized their fire on the target's head and brought it down, whereas Puppy merely damaged it.

"I'm going to help Eagleeye!" Puppy screamed, panic still gripping her voice.

 _[Do not break overwatch Puppy, hold your position!]_ The Commander ordered, but at the same time he was ordering T-Rex and Falcon to defensive positions to cover that very action she had wanted to take. _[Hawkeye, reload and assume overwatch, Sharptooth, enter Reaper and target the remaining Archon.]_

"But Eagleeye!" Puppy said, nervously resuming her position but still watching as Eagleeye clutched his side. "Someone's gata help Eagleeye!"

"I'm fine… but I'm bleeding out Commander…" Eagleeye moaned as he tried to pick up his gun while his Gremlin remained in hover mode.

"Chief that Sectopod's getting back up!" T-Rex said, and everyone turned to see the Sectopod beginning to stand up and resume its offensive programming.

It began aiming directly at where Puppy was and preparing to focus and concentrate its fire on her position.

 _[Eagleeye, Capacitor Discharge on that Sectopod now!]_ The Commander ordered.

Eagleeye nodded and punched the program and signaled his Gremlin, it flew off toward the Sectopod and extended its electrical arms, before releasing a powerful blast of electricity.

The Sectopod was struck heavily by the attack, and within seconds it fell over, with a tiny explosion to signal its destruction.

"We have their attention Commander, the path is clear…" Falcon said, using his Shredder to rip apart one of the advent soldiers reinforcing.

"Yea, we have the little girl covered!" T-Rex said as he unloaded the last of his clip and destroyed the cover for the remaining troopers.

"HRRAAAAAAR!" Sharptooth shouted as Hawkeye refocused his rifle and saw her slicing up the Archon in half, grinning as it fell to the ground like a sack of wet socks. "Go on Commander, Puppy is all clear!" She said.

 _[Puppy, move to Eagleeye's location and take cover on grid 57-H, apply Medkit to the wound and patch him up!]_ The Commander said as he turned his attention to the remaining forces.

"Roger!" Puppy said as she ran forward under the cover of Hawkeye's careful sightline, which the Commander had left him to do so that Puppy could move unharmed. "Hang on grandpa, I've got you!" Hawkeye smiled proudly as Puppy reached Eagleeye and pulled out one of her Medkits that she complained about so often, and began applying it to his wound.

"Thanks Puppy, that's the Land Shark's Rookie for ya, always keeping an eye on us!" Eagleeye said as he patted her head in gratitude while still keeping his gun at the ready.

"Oh shut up… just be glad you have me on this team, or else who knows what would happen to you all!" She snapped angrily back at him while she checked the wound.

"Hey everyone, Puppy is giving 'Grandpa' an affectionate nuzzle." Hawkeye said as his camera showed her patching Eagleeye's wound and looking so worried for him.

He could say that because Falcon and Sharptooth finished the remaining two troopers.

"Awww, isn't that the cutest thing you've ever laid your eyes on?" Sharptooth said with a giggle, unable to suppress her laughter while sheathing her Arc Blade.

"That's our Puppy for ya!" T-Rex said. "Cute as can be, and tough as nails!"

"Stop making fun of me!" Puppy said while everyone just laughed, with exception to the Commander and Falcon. "I'm just worried about you all, that's all! Someone's gata keep you all safe, so it might as well be me!"

"That is so adorable." Sharptooth said as she and the others reconvened with her and Eagleeye. "I just love having our little puppy with us! So protective of us, yet we're the ones who save her in the end!"

"Commander… I cannot feel the thoughts of anymore enemies on the highway…" Falcon said, ignoring the puppy talk while Hawkeye simply chuckled.

 _[Understood, Central, confirm that there are no more hostile signatures in the area?]_ He asked as he began floating down from his high position.

 _{Negative, readings show one more hostile signature.}_ Central called back.

"What are you talking about, I don't see any…" Sharptooth began saying, but Hawkeye suddenly spotted the last target.

She was barely visible through the tree branches, but standing with her beam rifle and having a full flank on Puppy and Eagleeye, who was still recovering from his injury and didn't have her weapon at the ready, was the last enemy contact he was sure he had seen.

A Viper, a very familiar orange colored schemed Viper.

(Viper's PoV)

She watched the little human female take cover again behind the tree, but constantly looking out at her comrade as he returned fire and the others began to fight all the more aggressively. At first she assumed that they were leaving him to die of his wounds, and simply having him perform whatever damage he could do before he expired.

But as the others began fighting against what remained of her fellow guards protecting the convoy, she said something and began moving toward the wounded human.

She was not an expert on human ages, but they looked to be extremely different compared to one another. The human female seemed to be far younger, perhaps nearing the age of maturity but still not quite there, while the male seemed to be in his very later years.

As she watched she ran to the fallen human as he collapsed and clutched at his wound, and she decided to move closer to spy on them, never having seen this kind of activity from them so close.

"Hang on Grandpa, I've got you!" She said as she held him, while pulling out some kind of… object that had a red cross on it.

' _ **Is she going to finish his life?'**_ She asked herself, wondering why a human would say those words if they were going to kill them, and say them so tenderly.

Then she took the object in her hand and sprayed something blue where he had been injured, and as she did his expression changed from one of pain to one of relaxed.

" **She helped him?"** She asked as she moved just a little closer watching as the other humans wandered over, having finished off her fellow guards. **"Their helping him? Why would they help him…?"**

"Thanks Puppy, that's the Land Shark's Rookie for ya, always keeping an eye on us!" The older human said with a smile, patting the younger female on the head with a smile.

"Oh shut up… just be glad you have me on this team, or else who knows what would happen to you all!" The younger female said back, but even though she looked and sounded angry, there was relief etched on her face and gratitude in her voice.

She watched the other humans moving over, some of them wearing smiles and looking extremely relaxed, yet one thing was clear, they all looked relieved as they stared at the little female. The sight of those Humans, talking among one another and sharing smiles and laughs, even amid the carnage that just took place made her envious.

All her life serving Advent, nobody had ever showed her such kindness as what she was seeing these humans showing one another. The little human female had rushed to rescue her comrade, and the others had fought all the more fiercely when she began making her way to him.

In Advent, a wounded soldier was often killed on sight, unless it was a biomechanical one, in which case the organism was replaced or the mechanical parts were repaired. Yet if any non-mechanical soldier was injured or badly wounded, most often they were Advent Troopers, they were killed off, and their bodies taken off to be 'repurposed'.

The mere image of these humans, protecting and caring for one another, was so very foreign to her. Her curiosity was starting to get the better of her as well, as she just wanted to see more of these resistance soldiers, but in her wish to satisfy her curiosity, she had neglected to remember one simple fact.

They were not like the venomous toxins she enjoyed examining, they were living breathing creatures and most importantly…

They were her enemy… a fact that they made very apparent the moment all of them suddenly turned toward her and raised their weapons.

Or at least, four of them did, the young female that had been helping the elder male was suddenly shoved behind him as he raised his weapon, while the others all took positions beside him and blocking her out of sight.

' _ **Oh no…'**_ She thought fearfully as she tried to aim her weapon, but she knew it was futile, if she fired at any of them, the others would return fire, she was finished.

"Don't even move…" A male voice behind her, and she felt the slightest piece of metal poke behind her head.

' _ **They have me surrounded…'**_ She thought even more fearfully as her whole body tensed up, wondering when she had been flanked, and how had she been so easily surrounded? _**'I'm dead… I'm dead!'**_

She was dead, there was no way she was going to live to see the sunrise ever again.

But just as she was preparing to resign herself to her death, a familiar little robot, similar to the one that was hovering near the older human that the young female had helped, began floating closer to her from above.

It was the very same one that she had seen that one human from the clinic protecting under his arm, the one that had spoken to her in her language.

The one that offered her mercy…

(Hawkeye's PoV)

He kept his gun trained on the Viper's head while the Commander floated closer, and they all waited for orders to finish her off so they could call in the Avenger.

"Commander… why didn't you order us to shoot her?" Sharptooth asked quietly over the coms while he descended. "Let's just kill her and call the flyboys in to pick up the cargo."

"Yea, we can't stay here forever chief!" T-Rex said.

"Quiet, he has a reason for ordering us to not fire…" Falcon said calmly.

"He better, that snake girl had a clear shot on Puppy for a good while." Eagleeye said while Puppy complained about not having her gun when she most needed it.

"Yea… she did…" Hawkeye said, noticing a pattern forming with this particular Viper, if indeed she was the same Viper from the clinic before.

"Just cause I was flanked didn't mean I couldn't have taken her!" Puppy complained.

Meanwhile the Commander flew down and was no on their level, and while everyone else focused on the Viper, she looked up at him while her weapon simply hung there in her arms limply. _[No matter what, do not shoot this Viper, that's an order.]_ He said privately to them all. _[Unless she shoots me or someone else, do not fire on her, is that clear? Also, I've cut off my visual optics to Central and the others, right now nobody sees us, so until I give the okay, not a peep…]_

"You're kidding me… the one time there's an alien I can FINALLY kill, and I can't shoot her?" Puppy complained. "What a lousy day!"

"What are you up to Commander?" Hawkeye asked now, being as quiet as he can.

 _[I have my reasons Hawkeye… if this is who I think it is…]_ He said back before floating closer to the Viper. _[Kishash temosh Hasheesh temonash, Koorash tesh miasss?]_

The Viper nodded frantically and replied in kind. **"Seeesham, kisshemanos!"** She said, and her voice sounded afraid, but it had a strange gentleness that Hawkeye had not ever heard before.

Though he had never once heard Vipers communicating outside of their angry hisses. This Viper sounded terrified, almost desperate to talk as it eyed the weapons trained on her that she could see.

 _[Kalemonish sooreshteesa?]_ The Commander spoke again, thoroughly confusing everyone as to how he could speak their language, but spoke it he did. _[Saresstisash seestoosh toramensh?]_

" **Seestash, seestash!"** The Viper said instantly, nodding her head feverishly. **"Koreminash… teeshmatashna hestor, trikesmatenora!"**

"Can somebody translate the gibberish for me?" Puppy asked as she reached around the others with her gun at last.

"I'll translate every word when I can understand a single syllable." Sharptooth said.

The Commander however nodded before he flew closer to the Viper, and everyone tensed up and trained their guns on her even more, ready to shoot if she even flinched wrongly. _[Histashnia…]_ He said calmly.

The Viper nodded and dropped her weapon instantly, before raising her hands into the air.

"Is she surrendering?" Puppy asked thoroughly confused. "Since when do Advent forces 'surrender'?"

"I guess this one?" T-Rex said just as confused as Puppy.

"Looks like it…" Hawkeye said, not understanding anything.

Normally Advent forces never surrendered, fighting to the death. He had never seen one surrender before, but then again this was the same Viper apparently that he had faced off against in the clinic, the one that was too afraid to pull the trigger when she had a flank on him and the Commander. _'Perhaps she values her life more than she values her loyalty to Advent?'_

 _[This is the same Viper from the clinic I told you about earlier today.]_ The Commander said, confirming what Hawkeye thought. _[She has agreed to surrender to us, provided we promise not to kill her. Apparently she was only with this convoy because it was her 'punishment' for not stopping us at the clinic yesterday.]_ He turned to Hawkeye and gave him silent orders to pick up the beam rifle.

He nodded and lowered his weapon, trusting the others to keep her in check, then he walked around her and bent down to pick up the weapon. As he did her face came into view and she watched him, the entire time her eyes showed that same fear as before, but at the same time they also had a sense of hope in them. Then he picked up the gun and returned to his position behind her.

 _[Lower your weapons now.]_ The Commander said.

"What, are you kidding me?" Sharptooth asked. "Commander, you can't be serious, us taking her as a prisoner of war I can understand, but lowering our weapons?"

 _[That's an order Kelly!]_ He declared, before he turned on the long range coms. _[Central, all remaining targets neutralized, be advised, we have a POW in tow. Bring the Avenger in and start getting these supplies on board.]_

 _{What was that, a POW?}_ Central said, and he sounded thoroughly confused. _{Sir, the Avenger is not built to hold a POW of any kind…}_

 _[That's an order Central, advise the crew to begin salvaging operation immediately upon landing, inform the Skyranger to land at our coordinates, we're taking on a POW. Have the Gamma Raptors and Water Dragons ready up on the deck to help escort her to Dr. Tygan's lab and inform him to prepare a physical and health checkup on her and tell him to have a 'female' physician perform it.]_ He said with absolute clarity and zero hesitation. _[Inform the weapon master to isolate the POW's Beam Rifle, and inform the crew that our POW is to be treated as a POW under international law. Finally, locate an appropriate cell for our new 'guest'.]_

There was silence on the coms while everyone waited for Central's response. _{Understood sir…}_ He replied, but there was a bit of anger in his tone, before the com channel closed.

"We are sooo sitting on a powder keg Commander…" Sharptooth said nervously as she lowered her weapon while the Skyranger flew over them. "This is not going to sit well with everyone…"

 _[You leave handling the crew to me sharks… for now just get ready to Evac.]_ He told them, before floating back over to the Viper and looking back over to her. _[Seeeshto, karameesh, sarashtemenish heesteranima ooriatimashnakash.]_

She nodded and put her arms behind her back and folded her clawed hands together, keeping her head down in a submissive way while the Commander went behind her and looked to Hawkeye.

 _[We don't have anything to bind her arms right now, therefore I want you to keep an eye on her, I've told her that while she's with you, she will be protected and not harmed.]_ He said while the Skyranger landed and everyone began boarding it, with Puppy looking around frantically for her gun before being dragged off by Eagleeye. _[I'm trusting you to keep her safe Hawkeye, she's going onto a ship full of people who would like nothing more than to shoot her dead for any reason. You and the other Sharks will need to keep her safe until everyone calms down about her being on board.]_

"You're taking an awfully big risk Commander…" He said as he tapped the Viper in the back and nodded toward the Skyranger.

She nodded in understanding and slithered forward, making sure to stay close to him while he remained behind her.

 _[It was better than the alternatives she faced…]_ He said as he flew ahead of him. _[It was between her living with us as our prisoner, her fleeing into the wild until a resistance soldier shoots her dead, or she going back to Advent and them executing her for failing again.]_

(Viper's PoV)

As she slithered onto the vehicle that landed before them, she was led to the front of the small space while the others all got on behind her. Once she was as far as she could go, she turned and watched everyone taking seats, some eyeing her and others with their fingers on their triggers. Yet there were two who didn't seem to be eyeing her constantly, the one called 'Hawkeye', that the robot had told her to stay near, and the robot itself.

Hawkeye merely sat with his arms crossed and weapon mounted on his back, while the flying robot floated at the back, shifting its gaze every few seconds.

' _ **They spared my life again…'**_ She thought as the ramp closed and the vehicle began to move.

She had almost resigned herself to her death, yet again, but once more it seemed the stars wanted her to live. Once again the little flying robot offered her mercy, if she agreed to surrender to XCOM as a prisoner of war. All she had to do was drop her weapon, and agree to surrender, and she would not be harmed.

She wasn't sure about where she was going, but at least she would live.

After a few minutes the flying robot came over to her and began speaking again. _[Before anything else, answer this, do you speak any Human languages?]_ It said.

She looked up at it while keeping her hands locked together, and nodded. **"Yes… I speak English, not very fluently, but enough to satisfy most earthlings."** She replied.

 _[That makes it a little easier then, I will warn you that when we land, you will be surrounded by XCOM forces.]_ It said. _[I'm going to give you some advice as well as some information, before you enter our base, otherwise you may be killed.]_

She nodded in understanding, knowing that while they had granted her mercy, kindness was another thing entirely.

 _[Once we land, you will be taken to a lab where you will be given a medical checkup, but along the way, there will be XCOM soldiers who will want to kill you, or even provoke you. Do not under any circumstances provoke them, if you do, in any way, I will not be able to protect you.]_

She nodded again, knowing what was to be expected.

 _[Also, I know your species is predominantly female, if not entirely female.]_ It said politely. _[Therefore, a female physician will be present and perform your medical checkup, you will of course be required to remove your armor. For this reason, no males, not even this Gremlin, will be present, however female officers, armed female officers, will be present for the medical. If you attempt to take any action than what the physician tells you to do…]_

She nodded once more, taking the hint that she would be killed, but also grateful for the fact that it at least assured her that no males would see her naked. Among her species was a tradition, almost forgotten these days, but it called for the fact that no males must see her private parts. Only her life mate was allowed that privilege, but alas she had no life mate, so no male should be allowed to see her.

 _[Finally… once your checkup is finished, you will be lead to a cell until we decide to interrogate you.]_ It said sternly. _[Once you enter that cell, you will be allowed to move more freely, but only in the confines of that cell, and under twenty four hour surveillance. Guards will be present the entire time, while you are out of the cell, you will be escorted by Hawkeye. As long as you are with him, you will be safe, but remembered what I said, as long as you are with him, you're protected and nobody will harm you.]_

She nodded yet again, understanding what was going to happen to her.

As it began to float away, she spoke up again. **"Why did you spare me?"** She asked it, before it could get too far away, but this time she spoke in English.

Everyone was silently staring at her, and shifted their looks to the Gremlin as it turned to look at her once more. _[Just because you're an enemy, does not mean you should be killed instantly for it.]_ It said calmly. _[I will order my forces to kill an enemy if that enemy means to kill them, but you weren't trying to kill us, so I had no reason to kill you.]_

Suddenly a light turned green and everyone became tense.

 _[Remember what I said, watch where you look, don't provoke anyone no matter what, and stay with Hawkeye.]_

She nodded as everything suddenly stopped moving and shaking, and everyone stood up and formed two lines, with Hawkeye standing next to her and watching her carefully.

 _[Viper… whose name I do not know yet, congratulations… you are the first of your kind to have entered our base as a POW… welcome to the heart of the resistance against Advent… welcome to XCOM.]_ The little machine said as the ramp lowered down.

She was suddenly blinded by a bright light as the ramp extended, before her eyes adjusted and she beheld the sight she never would have imagined.

Below the ramp was what looked like a landing pad, and arrayed on the pad were more resistance soldiers, all heavily armed and weapons aimed directly at her. Around the room were boxes and crates, and even a few depowered turrets.

 _[Alright everyone, disembark.]_ The robot said, and all five humans in front of her marched off in step, weapons held at the ready.

She was intimidated by how they all marched, even the young female marched as if she had done this her whole life, with a determined expression and with steady footsteps. While she slithered behind the five soldiers arrayed in front of her, Hawkeye remained behind, marching in step with his comrades and his weapon at the ready.

Remembering what the Gremlin told her she kept her eyes level and slithered behind them, while also keeping her hands behind her back and locked together.

"Commander, we've got a cell set up downstairs." A human in a suit said to the Gremlin.

 _[Very good Commander, once we land have everyone hurry up with transporting the materials on board.]_ It said. _[I'll speak with you later in my 'office', until then I'll escort our 'guest' to the medical lab using this Gremlin. Also, have Shen prepare something to bind our guest properly…]_

"Already on it sir, she says it'll be done in a few minutes." He said as the Gremlin followed behind him, beckoning her to follow as well.

 _[Attention Soldiers…]_ It said, and as one all of those present looked to the Gremlin with stone cold faces. _[As you can see, this Viper has been captured and has been brought on board our ship, she has surrendered to us and is to be treated until further notice as a Prisoner of War. Keep your personal opinions and biases to_ _yourself, and perform your duties to the same level of training that I expect of you! Is that clear?]_

"SIR YES SIR!" They all shouted at once, including the little female.

 _[Very good, therefore, the following agents will escort our prisoner with me, Agents Kelly, Sheryl, Samantha, and Tanya, and 'Hawkeye'. The rest of you are dismissed, move out!]_

As she watched, all of the soldiers with exception to four of the females began leaving, but the remaining four each took up a position in front and behind her, and together they began to move again through the base. She was feeling fear with each moment they moved, wondering if she was to live here until she was killed or experimented upon.

' _ **Everything is so… different here…'**_ She thought as her eyes glanced around ever so slightly.

 _[Eyes forward.]_ The Gremlin said again, and she snapped her attention back to the front, hissing nervously as the soldiers lead her to a door with a large red cross on it. _[Enter…]_

She nodded and was led inside by two of the female soldiers, while the other two remained outside. The Gremlin and Hawkeye followed behind her, and she found herself in what looked like a medical clinic, similar to what she had seen in the cities.

Standing next to one of the many beds which was lowered to the floor was a dark skinned female human, not wearing military armor and wearing a white coat and spectacles, with a curtain drawn behind her. "Thank you Sir… I'll take it from here." She said.

 _[Understood, all males leave.]_ The Gremlin said, and it promptly turned and left with Hawkeye, who turned back and glanced at her, just before the door closed behind him.

"Alright, please follow me, I just need to give you a medical exam to make sure your healthy…" The nurse said softly to, but she could see the fear in the woman's eye, she was afraid.

But she nodded and slowly slithered over to her, her hands still locked behind her back to try and prevent the soldiers from misunderstanding her actions. They had remained with her and kept their fingers on the triggers of their weapons.

"Alright, please take a seat, I'll begin shortly…" She said before eyeing the armored plating covering her torso and mid-section. "Uh… you'll need to remove that before we can begin…"

" **Very well…"** She hissed, and slowly began to undue her armor, very slowly as the two soldiers still with her trained their guns on her.

(The Commander's PoV)

"Sorry I'm late Commander." Shen said as she arrived with her Gremlin, Rover, floating behind her. "But I literally just finished these things, hada come up with them on the spot after Central told me we were taking a POW on board."

It beeped and booped to him, and he booped and beeped back to it, trading words of greetings in Gremlin Talk, before he focused his attention on the bindings Shen had in her hands. _[They look like an ordinary handcuff and some kind of metal ring…]_ He commented.

"That's what you'd think from the outside…" Shen said with a grin as she opened them up and showed the circuitry in the links binding the handcuffs. "But I've rigged it with an insanely small amount of C-4 in the joints lining the wrists and bindings. It's set to detonate if the pressure exceeds beyond what a Human can accomplish, and if in the event the handcuffs are removed from the wielder, without an authorized keycard, it'll blow. The same goes for the mouth binding, it's set so that there's just enough space for her to breathe through her mouth using her tongue, but not enough so that she could use it against anyone. If she tries to exceed the pressure I've set it to, boom."

 _[Impressive… although a little 'extreme'…]_ He commented.

"Commander, where are we going to keep her?" Hawkeye asked, causing him to turn to him now. "You said there was a cell down below set up for her."

 _[Knowing Central, he probably went for the most basic cage we have on board the ship.]_ He said. _[One of the Cargo holds that we use to store boxes and supplies, he probably had cameras placed down there and will post guards around the clock while she's on board.]_

"I see…" He said before looking back through the glass, to where the Viper was being examined behind a curtain for privacy. "So now what do we do with her?"

 _[Interrogate her, see what she knows, and find out what whatever we can that we don't know already, after that…]_ He replied, looking with him at their guest as well, noticing the looks the girls were giving to each other while the nurse examined her. _[Well, after that… we see if we can convince her to join our cause.]_

"Join our cause, are you sure that's even possible Commander?" Shen asked now, looking skeptic. "She's our enemy, true we spared her, but how do you know she'd even consider joining us?"

 _[It's a hunch Shen… but if my guess is right, living under Advent's rule, and through them the Elders… isn't exactly paradise.]_ He said to her. _[If they were as nice as the Speaker makes them out to be, she wouldn't have been out there to begin with. She was lightly armed, and armored, while her fellows were all prepared for heavy warfare. She was forced there as a 'punishment' for not stopping us at the clinic, if she had failed again they would have killed her. At least with 'us' she has a chance to live.]_

"Least until the crew decides to shoot her." Hawkeye finished for him. "You're sitting on a crate waiting to explode Commander, they won't be happy having a live alien on board."

"I agree with Hawkeye, not a lot of crew members are going to enjoy having her aboard Commander." Shen said softly as the Viper began putting her armor back on. "There's at least a few who have lost family to her species, they may get an idea or two."

 _[She's a prisoner of war Shen, not some beast, she's intelligent and has thoughts and feelings of her own, and as such we will treat her as one.]_ He declared. _[Hawkeye, you'll need to protect her.]_

"Why me Sir, out of everyone on board, why me?" Hawkeye asked.

He turned to Hawkeye and looked at the twenty five year old soldier, before the nurse came around the blinds and began to head toward the door. _[Because you know her the most besides me, and you can see her true motives out of everyone here. Besides…]_ He made a giggling sound before the nurse opened the door. _[You have a pension for rescuing female snakes!]_

With that the door opened and he zoomed in before Hawkeye could counter what he said.

"Commander, as you asked, I've done a physical examination of her, and I've made a few interesting discoveries based on what I've found." She said, before being silenced by him.

 _[Save your explanation for now, I'll hear your report later, for now just tell me if she's healthy or not.]_ He said.

"She's fine Sir, as far as I can tell, she's in good health." She replied.

 _[Good… Shen!]_ He said before going around the curtains with Shen and her bindings. _[I'm sorry but it's time we take you to your cell.]_ He said to the Viper in her language, before nodding to Shen and then to the Viper's hands. _[These bindings are meant for your wrists and mouth, until we reach your cell. They are rigged so don't attempt to take them off or force them off by any means.]_

She nodded in understanding as the cuffs were placed on her wrists and finally her mouth, barely managing to stick her tongue through for air.

After that they all made their way again to the staircase, and from there down to the lowest level of the ship, where the cargo was stored in one of the empty rooms they never found a use for.

Minutes later, and after many crew members who were running to help gather the supplies from the convoy moved out of their way, they entered the room and took their first look at their POW's cell.

"So this is how we treat our prisoners of war…" Hawkeye commented to him as everyone entered. "Not even an animal should be treated this way…"

The Commander had to agree, but he knew this was all they could manage on such short notice. The 'cell' was a simple rope mesh that was used to keep boxes from moving around, and the ends had been nailed down so that the ropes themselves were so stretched they were as stiff as iron bars. There were multiple cameras stationed around the room that he could see, all of them pointing at the cage and door. A simple bed that had been dragged down and rushed in was the only form of comfort, and there was a desk and chairs for guards to sit and observe their captive. The bed itself had a pillow and a thin blanket on it, but otherwise that was all that was there.

It also didn't help that the room wasn't well lit, there was just enough light for human eyes to see in it, but he had to turn up the brightness of his optical receptors just to see the entire room clearly.

"We'll take the first watch Commander." Kelly said behind him.

 _[Thank you…]_ He said before turning to their guest and having Shen remove the bindings. _[This is your cell until further notice.]_ He said to her as Shen removed the cuffs on her mouth and wrists. _[You will stay here, under guard and monitored by camera twenty four seven, until we come tomorrow for your interrogation. While you are down here, you are to remain in the confines of that net, if you attempt to leave it, or break out, the guards are authorized to shoot you dead on sight. Please note that this room is rigged to sound the alarm if that door is opened without authorization. If you need to use the bathroom during the night, get the guard's attention and they will call me, I will send my Gremlin and two female officers to escort you, and after you have finished we will escort you back to your cell. Do you understand?]_

She looked at him and nodded, and after that he led her inside the net and flew back out, where Kelly and her fellow guard tied up the ends to seal her inside.

 _[Very well, I suggest you get some rest… good night]_

(Viper's PoV)

She watched from the confines of the net as the Gremlin and Hawkeye left the room, closing the door behind them while the remaining two soldiers took seats next to the table and began talking to themselves, keeping their weapons in arm's reach.

"Did you see the knockers on her?" One of them asked.

"I always thought they were just venom sacks…" The other one said. "But if what the nurse says is true…"

"Even if they are, they must be what, size B or C?" The first one said.

"Man, she may be an alien but I'm still jealous, I'm only an A."

"That's cause you haven't been laid in like ten years!"

"Oh yea, and you have?" The second female said with a laugh. "Least I have a boyfriend who works in engineering!"

"I don't think working 'maintenance' is something to be proud of in a boyfriend…" The first one said, but she just ignored them as she slithered onto the bed and curled up.

' _ **Hierarch Mother… I'm still alive as you said…'**_ She thought sadly as she felt the cold metal of the wall behind her. _**'But now I'm in the heart of our enemy… surrounded on all sides… many wish me dead… while others protect me against their own…'**_

She remembered everyone she had met that day, at least the insurgents, of all of those who had pointed a gun at her, only two seemed to have her best interests at heart.

The little Gremlin that spoke for their Commander, the one in charge, and the Human called Hawkeye.

She thought about her Hierarch Mother, and pictured how she would react when another of her kind would not be reporting back to her. _**'Hierarch Mother… is this what you wanted me to do?'**_ She asked herself. _**'Would you prefer me surrender to them… instead of dying for the Advent Convoy? Why did you give me that order?'**_ She hissed quietly before curling her tail up and lying her head on the pillow, the only comfortable place on the bed. _**'Why me?'**_ She asked once again that day, the second bad day she's had in a series of bad days.

' _ **Why me… why me?'**_

(The Commander's PoV)

He floated into his room and punched on the keyboard, using his new arms and metallic 'hand' Shen had created for him to type the command.

Once he sent the message he simply floated around and waited for his contact to get the message. Sure enough, twenty minutes later he received a signal.

 _{MS RCEV EDO WHT YUC AOE NS SHI NSO CAEBE CAF LOU NEMS M AIST YA NO E AVATAR FACILITY HB EN IN ISEDI WLGE TCO RNAT ASOO NSPO IB LEOO DUK}_

To another, that would mean absolute gibberish, with exception to two words, but he read it with absolute clarity.

 _[Hmpf… the Council will be contacting me soon, best have Central begin contacting resistance cells to keep an eye out for anymore facilities until he finds it.]_ He sighed and wished he had a better hand than the claw Shen had designed for him. _[I miss my morning coffee… not having a stomach is so dull.]_

He never realized how much he really liked being human, until he became a Gremlin.

 _[Can't believe I actually miss stomach aches and headaches… what I would give to be able to go to the bathroom…]_ He said as he turned to the maps and charts concerning resistance movements and various statistics about their supplies. _[My kingdom for a working digestive system.]_

=Author's Notes=

Yep, so now our lovely viper lady has reached the Avenger and met a portion of its crew.

Also poor Commander, being a little floating robot with no real arms is so dreadful, all he wants is to be able to drink! You never realize how much you have until you lose it!

Also Puppy… why Puppy so annoying and cute?

But one more thing… can anyone possibly translate my hidden message I put up there, and who could it possibly be from?


	4. Chapter 4

{Connection made… opening channel…}

{…psst… psst… Can't stay connected… difficult to get… out…}

{… Advent nearing completion… refinery… ten times more…}

{…rumors of… new weapon… pod walk… schematics indicate…}

{… they're catching on… must close… good luck… friend…}

{Connection Terminated . . .}

=Chapter 4=

=Understanding Our Enemy=

(Viper's PoV)

' _ **So… cold…'**_ She thought as she lay coiled up under the blanket her captors provided her, trying to stay as warm as she could on the cold ship. _**'How do they endure this… endless cold?'**_

She had tried to spend the night resting, as the Gremlin told her to do, but she could not after a few hours of resting. The cold was getting uncomfortable for her, and after the two guards watching her changed positions with new guards, she had been unable to return to sleep.

Her species was not warm blooded like the Humans who captured her, and thus her species lacked the same means to warm themselves and maintain their body heat.

It also didn't help that the bed she was given was too small for her to lay comfortably on unless she coiled her lower body extremely tightly. But as she shivered slightly under the blanket, quietly eyeing her newest guards as they glanced at her every few minutes, she dared not try and ask to be placed in a warmer location.

The Commander, through his robot, had warned her to watch what she said, where she looked, and what she did while on board their vessel. If she made a wrong move then there were more than a few members of the resistance who would kill her without hesitation. She did not fear how they would treat her while she was their prisoner, but she did fear what they would do if she angered them.

Above all, she simply wanted to live through this situation, and if shivering in her cell was the best way to remain safe than so be it.

' _ **But it's so… cold…'**_ She thought sadly as she tried to coil up even tighter, trying to keep warm under the thin blanket.

After a few minutes of simply trying to keep warm on the bed, she heard the door open and looked up to see Hawkeye walking in with the Gremlin from before, in his hand was what looked like a metal tray. "Alright guys, I'll take over from here!" He said as the Commander floated over to her.

 _[Good morning.]_ It said to her. _[Sorry for disturbing you, but Hawkeye wanted to bring you breakfast.]_

She looked to the metal tray that Hawkeye had placed on the table, and saw that he had lifted the lid on it to reveal some kind meal on it. "It's just that we should treat our prisoners with a little hospitality, even if they 'are' uninvited guests." He said as he undid the restraints on the net to let her out.

She nodded, grateful for the temporary release from her cell and slithered out and over to the table. The food looked decent, similar to what she knew humans ate, but she was also nervous about it being poisoned.

 _[If you're wondering if we poisoned it, don't bother, we have no reason to.]_ The Gremlin said to her, floating next to her. _[If we had wanted you dead, you would be dead now, and if we wanted answers, we can get them from you later. Besides, Hawkeye cooked it himself…]_

"Thanks for the compliment, I think…" Hawkeye said as he took a seat.

She took one of the pieces of meat, sniffed it tentatively, and smelling nothing odd, slipped it into her mouth and swallowed it whole.

It had a strange taste to it, but not unpleasant to her, in fact the cooked meat reminded her pleasantly of her time when she was on the surveying team. The food was quite warm, soothing her cold muscles and stomach and making her want more.

"Well at least we know what she can eat." Hawkeye said.

 _[Yes… now I know you might be tired still, but after your finished eating, we will have to interrogate you.]_ The Commander told her, causing her to pause slightly in her eating.

" **I understand…"** She replied nervously, trying to enjoy the food but no longer able to after being told of what was going to happen to her.

 _[Your interrogation will take place down here, once you are finished, we will come down to question you about a few things.]_ He said again. _[Now, Hawkeye will stand watch over you, I have to go and have 'my' Gremlin take care of things, I'll send 'it' down with someone when it's time for your interrogation.]_

With that it turned around and floated out of the room, closing the door and leaving her and Hawkeye alone in the room.

As she ate her meal she glanced at Hawkeye, her sole protector aboard this vessel. He was not wearing the same armor that he had worn before, instead wearing normal civilian clothing and even what looked like a hat upon his head. While she was not confused or surprised about what he wore, she was surprised that he was 'reading' next to her.

"You have a question ma'am?" He asked when he glanced up and noticed her staring at her.

" **Why you reading?"** She asked in confusion.

"Oh, the book, well no reason to have my gun on me while watching you eat breakfast, and I need to do something while I watch you eat." He said as he turned back to his book. "I have a feeling I can at least trust you to not try and attack me while I'm reading. That, and you're being monitored by seven cameras…" He said as he pointed with his other hand around the room.

She looked around and saw what he meant, there were seven cameras watching her every move from various positions around the room. **"I see…"** She said quietly. _**'No wonder he can sit there without worry…'**_

As she finished her meal she expected her interrogators to walk right in, but no everything was silent as she stood there waiting.

"You really do need to stop being so nervous, it's not like the Commander's going to execute you after you've been interrogated." Hawkeye said as he flipped a page in his book. "He's probably just going to ask you a lot of questions."

" **But what happens, after?"** She asked him.

"After that… well… I honestly don't know." He said, looking up at her and frowning. "I guess it's all up to you after that."

" **Me?"** She asked.

"Yea, I mean, you're not exactly able to go back to Advent right?" He said, placing a piece of paper where he was reading and closing the book. "If what he told us was true, you're not exactly on good terms with them anymore."

She nodded sadly as she stared at the metal floor. **"No… I'm not…"** She said, remembering her failures.

Twice she has failed Advent, twice she had refused to defend what she was ordered to protect, and now she had been taken prisoner, without putting up any resistance. The Hierarch Mother had told her that she could not protect her a second time, she could not fail again.

' _ **If I go back… I'll die… if I flee they'll kill me…'**_ She thought sadly, realizing that there was nowhere for her to go now. _**"Why everything bad happen to me?"**_

They sat in silence as she waited there, trying to figure out what she would do now. "Why don't you join us?" He asked her softly.

She looked up at him in surprise. _**'Join them… the resistance… why would they let me?'**_ She thought in surprise. **"Why?"**

"Look, you know full well that Advent isn't anything like what the Speaker portrays it as, and you know from personal experience that they aren't the nicest bunch." He said seriously. "Advent is killing off humans by the thousands with each passing week, you know this, and wouldn't you rather fight for a noble cause like saving lives? They've brainwashed and enslaved my species with their lives, and their killing them off without any of them realizing it."

She nodded in understanding, she knew all of this was true, but again, how could she just turn against the Elders who gave her species power and purpose? She's only ever known of serving the Elder's plan for all life, following her Hierarch Mother's orders, as did the rest of her sisters and brothers.

But at the same time, the Elders clearly did not care for her, or her sisters and brother, or even her species as a whole. They did not mind if Advent threw them against their enemies and lost them, they treated her and the others like the Advent Trooper clones, expendable and replaceable.

" **What good, would it do?"** She asked at last.

"Well for starters… at least we don't slaughter a species like Advent." He said. "Just think on it for now…"

" **Alright…"** She hissed quietly, just as the door opened and she turned to see the flying robot return, with several people with it.

 _[Hawkeye, you're relieved now…]_ The Commander said through his machine. _[Go join your squad upstairs, we'll take over from here.]_

"Understood commander." Hawkeye said, and she watched as the human that had been the kindest, so far, left her with only a machine and soldiers to be with alone in her prison.

"Alright miss, my name is Central, Central Bradford, and I'll be your interrogator." The man with a datapad in his hands said as he sat across from her, his expression showing his dislike of her. "Now… let's start talking. If you give me some good Intel, and I may just reconsider my idea of disobeying the Commander's orders to not throw you off the ship mid-flight. Let's get started…"

(Hawkeye's PoV)

Hawkeye walked up the staircase after depositing the metal tray in the kitchen, and made his way back to his squad's quarters. A minute later he walked past the other squad's rooms and entered his own squad's room to see, not surprisingly, Puppy sitting on her bunk with a screwdriver and datapad, while also holding Eagleeye's Gremlin in her hand.

"Puppy, why are you messing with Eagleeye's Gremlin, I thought we told you to leave it alone." He said as he sat across from her on his own bunk.

"Hey, he let me mess with it today!" She countered as she lifted the top of its armor and began poking around inside of the main body. "He said Engineering is almost finished with that new Mk III model, so I can tinker and mess around to see how his bird works."

"You know the Commander doesn't like it when you mess with that stuff though." He said as he laid down and pulled out his book again.

"Hey, until the Commander promotes me and gives me my own Gremlin, I might as well borrow Eagleeye's to learn." She countered as she read her datapad now. "So, how's our snake girl downstairs doing?"

"I take it you were watching?" He asked her, glancing over at the fifteen year old.

"Who hasn't…?" She answered, before tapping something on the pad and turning it around, showing Central, The Commander, two soldiers, and the Viper on the screen. "Everyone's been watching her at some point all day. Half the crew is betting Central kills her or is waiting for her to just look at someone wrong so they have an excuse to shoot her dead. The only ones on the ship who aren't are us, the Water Dragons and like four members of the Gamma Raptors."

"Guess since we've all killed our fair share of aliens, it's no surprise that we're the ones treating her with just a tad more respect." He said, turning back to his book.

"You seem to be treating her differently though Hawkeye, why is that?" Puppy asked.

"She's extremely afraid of her current position, she's alone on a ship full of humans who would kill her if not for the Commander's orders." He said as he continued reading. "She may have been an enemy at first, but she obviously doesn't want to kill any of us. She could have killed me or even you, she had the best angle in both situations, but she still didn't shoot either of us."

"Which is precisely why the big guy has kept her alive!" Sharptooth said as she walked in, making him put his book down.

Sharptooth was wearing her tank top and a pair of ripped shorts and wearing a towel around her neck, and he guessed by her wet hair that she had just come out of the showers.

"How were the showers?" He asked her, returning to his book as she climbed up to her bunk above his.

"Eh, they were alright, but one of the girls found a Gremlin belonging to the Water Dragons hiding in the changing room." She said as he heard her rummaging around on her bunk, dropping her shorts onto the floor and letting her legs hang over the side.

"Of course it would be someone from the Water Dragons, they've got the most Technicians out of the three squads." Puppy said. "So whose Gremlin was it, Chopper, or Nidhug's?"

"Nidhug of course, it's the fourth time he's tried that stunt!" She said with a chuckle as he heard her jumped down. "I know the guy has no girl on board, but really, Central's ganna give him an earful if the girls in his squad don't smack him down first."

He nodded as he put down his book to look over at Sharptooth, as she sat on Puppy's bunk as well. "So how's our girl doing?" She asked him with a smile. "You two getting close down there?"

"It aint like that Kelly, but I am the only one on this ship that doesn't want to sign her death sentence." He said with a sigh. "She's more terrified of us then we are angry of her, she knows full well that we can kill her at any time and there's nothing she can do to stop us. Imagine how you'd feel if you were in an Advent cell."

"Yea, I guess that's one way to look at it." She said, before taking Puppy's datapad and bringing up their prisoner's cell on the screen. "Well it looks like everything's still civil down there…"

A moment later their door opened up again and Eagleeye walked in with T-Rex, both wearing towels and t-shirts and shorts, also clearly having just left the showers.

"Man, I have never seen Nidhug with a deeper shade of black around his eye!" T-Rex chuckled as they walked over to their bunks. "I didn't think a girl could hit that hard!"

"Does he still have an eye to use?" Puppy asked with a giggle as Eagleeye patted her on the head as he passed.

"Yea, they made sure to leave his eye intact at least, can't have one of their Technician's losing his good eye, especially when it's his only eye." Eagleeye said as. "Surprised they didn't break his legs."

"Better to hit his only good eye so he learns his lesson." Sharptooth said as she covered Puppy's eyes with her hand and looked away so that T-Rex and Eagleeye could change.

"So you guys talking about our guest downstairs?" T-Rex asked from his bunk.

"Been there, done that." Hawkeye said. "So, your opinions?"

"As long as she don't hurt our little Puppy, I got no reason to send my little bird at her." Eagleeye said.

"Hey, I'm not some helpless little dog you know!" Puppy complained while Sharptooth kept her hand over her eyes. "Just wait until I get my first kill, you'll see! Then I'll get promoted and finally get to use the good stuff, I'll probably even get my own Gremlin!"

"Keep dreaming little puppy, keep on dreaming." Sharptooth giggled as she peaked to see if T-Rex and Eagleeye were finished changing.

"Speaking of Gremlins, how's my little bird treating you Puppy?" Eagleeye asked as she was finally allowed to look again.

"How does this thing contain so many hacking protocols that it can still operate in combat?" She asked as she replaced the top on it and watched it float back over to him.

"When you use it as often as I have, that's how." He chuckled.

"So, do you think our snake girl will break under Central's questions?" T-Rex asked as they all looked at the screen, which showed Central still examining their prisoner.

"We'll find out, Hawkeye said she was really nervous, but now that I'm watching her, she's even more afraid than he described." Puppy said.

Hawkeye nodded as he returned his attention to his book, not wanting to watch the Viper being interrogated without anyone she could trust nearby.

He knew she was terrified, and he honestly wished the Commander had let him stay with her, if for no other reason so that he could assure her that she was safe. But Central wanted it to be just him and the Commander, and two guards. He also wanted him and the other Sharks to be ready at a moment's notice if something important came up.

He honestly wondered how she was feeling right now, as he flipped the page of his book. Alone in a cold, dark, and unforgiving room, surrounded by soldiers and being interrogated...

(Viper's PoV, hours later)

' _ **Does this human have an endless number of questions?'**_ She asked herself, seconds later she got her answer.

"So… why were you with that convoy now?" The human called 'Central' asked her, staring her down as she tried to remain calm.

' _ **Why does he ask, what I have already told their Commander…?'**_ She thought tiredly as she took a deep breath. **"I failed to stop you at the clinic… and for that I was punished… my punishment was to guard the convoy from insurgent attacks, thus I was ordered to protect it."**

She looked nervously at the Gremlin, wishing the interrogation was over. It had been over two hours since Hawkeye left, and she were wishing he was there again, just to see some kind of friendly face among the hostile ones surrounding her. The two guards had kept their weapons trained on her the entire time, aiming for her head and keeping her on edge. She had hoped their Commander would stop his soldiers from threatening her, but apparently he wanted to keep the fear on her so she would answer their questions.

At her answer Central nodded, and touched something on the datapad in front of him before glaring at her once again, intimidating her and making her feel nervous.

She could kill him, and she knew that he knew she could kill him at any time, but surrounded by guards and with weapons trained, as well as trapped on their ship, he knew she would not dare make a move against him. Yet despite her knowledge that she could kill him, she was not interested in harming anyone, all she wanted was for this interrogation to end so that she could return to the safety of her cell, where she could curl up and shiver next to the cold wall.

At least in her cell, the only thing she had to fear was a glare or two from whoever was watching her.

"So who was it that ordered you?" He asked now, making her look back to him.

" **My Hierarch Mother…"** She replied.

 _[Hierarch Mother… what is that?]_ The Commander's Gremlin asked now.

"Yes… what do you mean by 'Hierarch Mother'?" Central asked again.

She looked up at the robot and then back to her interrogator. **"She is my leader… my species leader… the one who represents and whom the Elders speaks to."** She said. **"She gave me mercy and gave me my punishment."**

"She represents the Elders, and they speak to her?" Central asked. "So your saying she's the highest ranked among your species?"

" **Yes… she is the highest among our kind… she is our leader and to whom we answer to."** She answered. **"She gives us our orders from the Elders, and commands a large portion of the Advent Forces."**

She knew that revealing her Hierarch Mother to the resistance would only make her a target now, but she had to answer their questions. If she refused to answer, there was a risk they might kill her.

"I see…" He said as he tapped the datapad.

 _[I think we've asked enough Central.]_ The Commander said. _[We have been at this for over two hours. If we continue we'll only exhaust our prisoner even more, and we have a vested interest in keeping her healthy.]_

"Very well." Central said, standing up and nodding to the two soldiers there. "Please return to your cell."

She nodded and gratefully slithered over to the net that was now her sanctuary, and watched as they tied it down, once more sealing her up in her cold corner of the room.

As Central left with the two soldiers, with a new one entering to take their place, she looked over to the Gremlin and spoke up quickly to get its attention. **"When will Hawkeye return?"** She asked.

The Commander's Gremlin turned around to look at her and responded a second later, _[Hawkeye is currently on duty with the other members of his squad, as well as the others, and they are all on standby until I tell them otherwise. For now, try to get some rest, you've just had a very exhausting day.]_

With that he turned and left the room, leaving her alone once again with only one guard to watch over her.

She sighed as she returned to her bed, too small for her to lie on comfortably, and coiled up as tightly as her lower half could manage, wrapping the blanket around her once more to keep as warm as she could in the cold room.

She already sorely missed Hawkeye, the only human besides the Commander, who treated her with a moderate amount of respect. _**'I hope he comes back again…'**_ She thought hopefully as she eyed her guard nervously, even as he checked his weapon in front of her. _**'At least he doesn't threaten me with a gun every second.'**_

(The Commander's PoV)

"So we've learned how far along they are with the Avatar Project." Central said as they both looked at the map while he updated it with their latest Intel.

 _[Meaning they've lost almost all of their progress and research has grown to a standstill.]_ He said. _[It's as our contacts in the cities have informed us, the clinics are almost all closed for 'renovations…]_

"That's of course their cover up for us shutting down so many refineries and research facilities." Central said as he changed the map to show just how many destroyed red facilities dotted the map.

America alone had thirteen destroyed facilities.

 _[Yet even though we've all but destroyed their Avatar Project, they still have our people enslaved… brainwashed…]_ He commented as he eyed the globe with dissatisfaction. _[What is it going to take to get them to see the truth? I figured by halting their Avatar Project, and by gathering all the evidence we've gained so far… that by now we could wake everyone up to the truth.]_

"We'll get there eventually Commander, we haven't lost this fight yet." Central said calmly.

 _[Yes… but how long can we keep fighting Central… none of us are getting younger…]_ He replied. _[In any case, have you made contact with the resistance cells across the globe, I received a message from one of our contacts in the cities that Advent might be working on that new facility dedicated to the Avatar Project.]_

"I have everyone keeping a look out, but so far no luck." Central said. "If this facility is as big as your contact claims it is, we shouldn't have trouble finding it."

"Sir, incoming priority signal for the Commander!" Someone shouted. "It seems to be a prerecorded message."

"Patch it in." Central said as they turned to the large screen. "Let's see what he wants this time."

 _[I have a feeling I know what he wants.]_ He said as the picture came on, revealing the distorted image of the Council. _[Hello Council.]_

 _{Hello Commander, your efforts as of late have put Advent on edge, which is something I am pleased to say. However, Advent is on the move again…}_ He said. _{As you may have heard recently from our, informants, inside the cities, but Advent is not taking this string of losses lying down, and have begun the final construction stage to a new facility.}_

The screen changed to show what looked like a blurry image of a building, next to it was an image of the Blacksite Facility that they first raided. The size comparison between the two was enormous, the Blacksite Facility looked to be one fifth the size of this new facility that the Council was showing them.

 _{As you can see, Advent's newest facility, which I have codenamed, Avalon, is five times the size of any other facility that you have encountered thus far. My information tells me that it is a massive processing facility that will also double as a research center, for the Avatar Project.}_

The screen changed so that it now showed a global map of known Advent Forces, and it showed several dots moving toward and positioning themselves around a point somewhere in the arctic region.

 _{While I do not have confirmed reports of the facility's location, Advent has diverted considerable forces toward a large region, located in the arctic region. I also have discovered, that this facility has been ordered and sped up in its construction, and is being overseen by someone in the highest levels in Advent's Administration. The only name I could gleam for this, is one 'Hierarch Mother'.}_

"Hierarch Mother… the head Viper?" Central asked suddenly.

 _[The head Viper is overseeing the final stages of this facility?]_ He asked.

 _{I don't think I need to inform you Commander, but if this facility is completed, due to its sheer size, our 'guests' will be able to move forward with their Avatar Project, at a speed unsurpassed than what you've shut down in the last five years. Find 'Avalon' Commander, destroy it, before they complete its construction, and if you get the chance, eliminate the Hierarch Mother, and strike a crippling blow to Advent's leadership. Good Luck, Commander.}_

The message ended and was replaced by the XCOM logo, leaving everyone on the bridge silent as they all registered the information.

"A facility of that size, if the Black Site could process humans by the hundreds… weekly." Central said as he brought up the facility size comparisons on screen.

 _[They could slaughter our people by the thousands on a daily basis…]_ The Commander said furiously. _[This… is unforgiveable, we are not pigs to be slaughtered.]_ He turned to Central again and looked at him as seriously as his Gremlin body could manage. _[Central, get in contact with our resistance forces in the Arctic, I want this facility found, now! I don't care how many people have to spend sleepless nights searching, I want it found!]_

"Yes sir!" He said as he left the bridge to head down to the communications center.

Meanwhile he turned again to look at the Avalon Facility. _[I will not let my species be slaughtered like pigs, without lifting a finger to stop it.]_ He said while everyone went back to work on the bridge. _[I will see this facility burned to the ground, even if I have to pile the firewood around it myself to see it happen!]_

=Author's Notes=

Poor Viper, she really needs a name for herself, but what to call her?

Also, ouch, that facility is not exactly nice, and just to answer why when I say Gremlin instead of GREMLIN, well… I kinda made a typing error and now I'm stuck doing it that way?


	5. Chapter 5

{Connection made… opening channel…}

(… psst… psst… psst…}

{…They're on to me, my time is limited…}

{… Will find out all I can before they find me…}

{… Vigilo Confido, I will resist to the end…}

{Connection Terminated . . .}

=Chapter 5=

=The Break before the Storm=

=An Understanding Talk=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"So remind me again why 'I'm' stuck on guard duty with you Hawkeye?" Puppy asked as they walked down to the cell the Viper was in.

"Because the Commander put us on guard duty with the rest of the sharks and the dragons, after the last incident he doesn't want to take any risks with the other personal." He said as he walked down with their guest's lunch in hand.

It's been only one and a half days since she had come on board, yet already she was having an effect on the crew, if not everyone. While the more highly trained soldiers, namely those in the three attack squads, the Gamma Raptors, the Water Dragons, and the Land Sharks, were far more tolerable of their prisoner, the rest of the crew wasn't so much.

The last guard the Viper had watching over her had almost straight up shot her, for simply glancing at him every few minutes. If the Commander and Central hadn't been watching after the fourth time he pointed his gun at her, she might have been killed. Fortunately they defused the situation before it became dangerous, but already the tensions were beginning to get to people.

So that's why he was walking down to her cell today, with him carrying her lunch that he cooked himself.

"Man, and today Eagleeye was going to teach me about how the Gremlin's hover pads work." Puppy complained as she carried her weapon over her shoulder.

"You just have to complain about everything don't ya?" He asked her when they reached her cell door. "All you have to do is sit there with me to keep an eye on her, that's it, what are you complaining about. It's the easiest job you've ever had that the Commander gave you."

He heard her grumbling while he entered the code to authorize them entrance, and seconds later he opened the door and they walked in.

"Alright guys, we're here to relieve you." He said as he walked in to seeing Sharptooth and 'Dragonfang', a Ranger on the Water Dragons playing checkers with their weapons over their shoulders.

"About time." Sharptooth said as she got up and stretched. "I don't know how much longer I could stand playing checkers with this guy."

"That's cause you have the patience of a Goldfish." He chuckled as he got up as well. "Alright Hawkeye, she's all yours, I'm turning in for bed."

"Same here birdbrain, I'm hittin the sack!" Sharptooth said with a chuckle also as she passed by him.

With that they closed the door and locked it, leaving him and Puppy free to look at their prisoner. She was sitting on her bed coiled up and shivering under her thin blanket, however upon their entrance she looked up and saw him.

"Hey there, got lunch for ya." He told her as he put the food tray on the table and went over to the net to let her out, while Puppy went and sat in one of the chairs.

After he released her she nodded in gratitude and slithered over to the table, and to her lunch, instantly cheering up as she dug into his cooking. **"Thank you…"** She said as he sat in the other chair, pulling his book out to read while she ate.

(Viper's PoV)

"No problem, no reason for our prisoner to starve just because she's an alien." He said with a chuckle. "This is Puppy by the way."

"Hi, I think…" The younger female said with a wave of her hand, though she made sure to keep her other hand on the rifle she was carrying. "You should consider yourself lucky, you might have been my very first kill."

She eyed the human with skepticism at first, but nodded in acceptance of the statement. _**'She may be right… if she had spotted me first, I might not have lived.'**_ She thought as she ate the other human's cooking, which easily warmed her up better than that thin blanket did. **"Why are you 'Puppy', you do not look like a 'puppy'?"** She asked, very curious as to why these humans named themselves after… oddities and animals.

She has so far learned of at least nine different human names, or at least what they refer to themselves as. Hawkeye was the first, but then came Sharptooth, Angelfish, Centipede, Dragonfang, Nidhug, T-Rex, Eagleeye, and now 'Puppy'. Exactly how do they choose these names, none of the intelligence files or history books on humans that she's read, ever gave her any explanation for this, 'Phenomena', that being the best word she had to describe it?

Was it some kind of ranking, the more fearsome the name the higher ranked they were? Were they given names by deeds done, perhaps they got them by slaying some fearsome beast or perhaps an enemy that resembled their names? If that was the case, how did Puppy get her name, based on what she just said, she had yet to kill anything.

"Hey, I won't be a puppy forever you know!" She said back angrily, and for just a split second her hand fingered the trigger of her rifle. "As soon as I get my first kill and get promoted, I'll finally get a respectable name! Then I won't be the butt of everyone's jokes like the other rookies. At least I try to learn about our tech instead of just taking whatever the Commander equips us with on missions!"

"Puppy…" Hawkeye said coldly, and Puppy nodded and went back to examining her gun.

" **But… why do you call yourselves these… names?"** She asked as she finished the last of her food, feeling very full and warm inside thanks to Hawkeye's cooking.

Her so far, favorite human, aboard this ship sighed and put his book down to look up at her. "We get our names based on our personal preference, something we're known for, and our position or training." He answered her, though he frowned at her. "I'm called Hawkeye because I once was a Hawk handler, before Advent killed my bird. Does that answer your question?"

At hearing that, she suddenly felt a pang of understanding, as well as sympathy for her only 'ally' on board this vessel. She considered him an ally because the Commander, through his Gremlin, had told her to trust Hawkeye and rely on him to protect her. After hearing about how Advent had hurt him, she could see now why this human was so fearsome, and why he slaughtered those Advent Soldiers so willingly.

" **This… hawk… it was 'friend' of yours?"** She asked nervously, not wanting to anger him after seeing him fight firsthand.

"Falcor was my friend… yea." He growled, picking his book up and going back to reading. "He was my Hawk that I used to teach kids about wildlife. Until Advent killed him…"

There was silence again as she watched Hawkeye, before she once again tempted her fate and spoke to him. **"Why?"** She asked, hoping he wouldn't threaten her like the other guards.

He took a deep breath before putting his book down, but still didn't look at her. "They said they were 'protecting' the safety and security of the citizens in the Advent city nearby." He replied calmly, but she could hear the bitterness in his voice.

"That was all they told me, that my bird might have been used to spy on Advent personal for the resistance cells." He continued. "It was true Falcor flew near the city, he often flew near Advent forces when he hunted, and he wore a specially designed hood for his head which they might have confused for a resistance spotter, but it was only to identify him both to bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts. But as for why they killed him, that was the only excuse… they didn't even apologize or offer me any kind of repayment for their 'obvious mistake'. And that's why I'm called Hawkeye… to honor my bird Falcor…"

The way he talked, the tone of his voice, and the way he said it with forced calm told her so much that she felt pity for him. There was deep anger being suppressed, and an even deeper sadness being restrained.

Now she knew why he fought so hard, why he was so dangerous… **"I'm sorry… for your loss…"** She whispered sadly as she looked at the ground.

"It's not your fault, nothing to be sorry about." He said as he picked up his book and looked at it again, but he didn't seem to be interested in reading. "You didn't even know about my hawk moments ago, so no point in apologizing for something you didn't do."

Once again they sat in silence, with her glancing at him every few seconds while she stood there, trying to figure out what to say next to possibly defuse the situation.

"So, what's your name?" The human girl called 'Puppy' asked after a while.

" **Name?"** She asked curiously.

"Yea, we all have a name, and you know our names by now, but what about you?" She asked her while still keeping her hand on her rifle. "Everyone just refers to you as 'Viper', so what's your name? From what I've learned it seems you're going to be stuck here a while, so why not tell us your name."

At the young female's question she thought about it, but had no answer to give her. _**'A name for myself… but I have no name…'**_ She thought privately, looking down at the floor as she slowly coiled up. **"I have no name… never needed a 'name'."**

"Wait what, you have no name?" Puppy asked in confusion. "How is that possible, how do you guys distinguish yourselves?"

" **Identified by numbers… I was number six two six three five seven five…"** She answered, recalling her identification number when she was serving Advent.

Now that she remembered her identification number, she resented her masters even more. Advent had denied her something she never even realized she had wanted, hearing the humans and their 'names' made her see that she wasn't even special or important to the Elders in the slightest. Or else they would have at least given her something to make her more unique to her sisters and brothers, something like, a name.

"So your Viper six hundred and twenty six thousand, three hundred and fifty seven?" Puppy asked. "Talk about a long identification name. You Advent guys don't get names and you call yourselves a bunch of numbers, talk about a bad upbringing." She sighed and shouldered her rifle before crossing her arms and staring at her. "Well, I guess we have something in common Viper."

" **Something in common?"** She asked her.

"So what do your fellow Vipers call you?" She asked now, ignoring her question.

She looked at her hand, thinking about her fellow sisters and brothers, and her Hierarch Mother, before answering the question. **"Sister… that is what we call each other… sister or brother."**

"Wait there are boy Vipers?" Puppy asked in amazement. "How come we've never seen any, all the Vipers we've fought have all been girls!"

" **Not many… very few."** She answered, before sighing sadly, remembering just hoe few males her species had. **"We can't risk them in battle… need every male to live…"**

"Which explains why we always thought you Vipers were all girls." Hawkeye said as he continued to read his book, not looking up. "So do you have any brothers?"

She shook her head. **"None…"**

"What about sisters?" Puppy asked now with even more curiosity.

She shook her head again. **"None anymore… all sisters are my sisters… but my 'biological' sisters are gone."** She said sadly, remembering again that she no longer had any 'true' sisters anymore. **"All lost… killed fighting your resistance."**

There was silence again, before Puppy spoke up after a few minutes. "I guess we owe you the apology this time." She said, before getting up and walking over to Hawkeye "Our crew might have killed a few of your sisters over the years… well 'they' all might have anyway."

"Way to point the blame on us Puppy!" Hawkeye said quietly.

" **It alright… not your fault."** She said, looking up at them and frowning. **"Didn't know until now… no reason to apologize."**

There was silence again, before Hawkeye put his book down once more. "I guess that's something else we have in common as well." He said quietly before the door opened, causing her to turn and look to see who had shown up.

In the doorway were two guards, ones she believed were called 'T-Rex' and 'Nidhug'. "Alright brotha, we'll be taking over for now!" The one called T-Rex said as he holstered his rifle.

"Understood." Hawkeye said as he picked his book up and got out of his chair. "Alright, I'll be back to give you dinner, please enter your cell now."

She nodded and slithered over to the net, bending over to go between the gaps and sit on the bed, before turning to see Hawkeye and Puppy closing up the straps. Once she was secured they turned and walked out of the room, Hawkeye carrying the meal tray and Puppy her rifle. As they left they closed the door, and T-Rex and Nidhug took their posts at the table, pulling out what they called 'cards' to pass the time while watching over her.

' _ **Until next time…'**_ She thought sadly as she wrapped herself in her thin blanket, trying to ignore the shivers she was feeling.

As she watched the two Humans playing cards, she thought about Puppy and Hawkeye again, and began thinking about why they resisted and fought so hard against Advent. Then she thought again about joining them, the resistance effort against Advent. But how could she just turn her back on the Elders, when that was the only life she had ever known?

' _ **Then again…'**_ She thought bitterly. _**'It's not like the Elders are trying very hard to rescue me…'**_

=Genetic Talk and Friendly Chats=

(The Commander's PoV, 3 days after capturing Viper=

 _[Run that by us again Dr. Tygan.]_

He and Central were in the lab and next to one of Tygan's console screens, which currently was showing two bioscanned Vipers. One of them being the many Viper corpses they'd brought him over the years, and the other one their current POW.

And now they were both trying to grasp exactly what it was he and his research staff had just discovered about their 'guest'.

"Alright, I'll go over it one more time." Tygan said as he reset the screen to show two DNA strands on screen. "As you can see, these two are different strains of DNA, one of them is just an example of Human DNA, unaltered and without any genetic manipulation. The other is a strand of Viper DNA, taken from our records of our various autopsies of the Viper classification of aliens."

"That part we got Tygan, it's the rest that you lost us on." Central said calmly.

"Yes, well continuing from where I left off, as you can see here, the Viper DNA strand has several obvious genetic modifications to it, most notably Human DNA genetics." He continued, and tapped the screen to show several highlighted sections of the Viper DNA, and on the Human DNA several sections were also highlighted. "At first, based on our preliminary checks based on the corpses we've encountered and recovered, we assumed that these genetic modifications to their species was what produced the very obvious human traits we've come to be familiar with today."

"However Commander and Central, thanks to my scans on our 'friend' down in the cargo bay, Doctor Tygan and I have made a very interesting discovery." The other scientist with them, the nurse who oversaw their Viper's medical examination, Doctor Theodora.

Moments later she tapped the screen as well and a third strand of DNA appeared with the image of their POW next to it, so as to distinguish it from the other two.

"As you can see here, this strand also consists of Viper DNA, and our friend is almost perfectly identical to the corpses we've autopsied over the years. However, on the genetic level, we've found some glaring inconsistencies when we compared the two." She said as she tapped the screen again, and several sections of the strand became highlighted, the same ones as the other two. "These sections should bear similar links in the chain as the corpse DNA, but they don't match, in fact what you're seeing, and this is just a theory of mine… but what this looks like is an almost genetically unmodified strand of Viper DNA."

 _[Unmodified… how is this possible?]_ He said as he looked between the image of the Viper corpse, and their living Viper residence. _[They're almost perfectly identical on the surface, how come our 'guest's' DNA is so different?]_

"I believe the answer, can be found not only at the genetic level, but also on the surface." Tygan said, before he changed the screen to show the images of both their Viper corpse and living Viper POW. "Agent Hawkeye stated in his report to you, Commander, that this Viper seemed different compared to the others he and the others fought against. That is when I began thinking, at first about something besides the obvious, but as the mystery continued, I looked into the obvious."

"Well spill it Doctor, what did you find out." Central said.

Doctor Tygan tapped the console again and brought up the DNA strands again, and began highlighting them to show the modified genes between the two of them.

"My team discovered that the genes most heavily modified for our Viper corpse, one of many, are genes that have given them the ability to endure various temperature climates that would otherwise be inhospitable to their species, for example cold climates." He said. "There are also 'other' strands that, upon closer inspection, are those that deal with, 'reproductive' genes."

"The ability to handle colder climates I can understand, but reproductive genes, why give these Vipers 'that' particular human gene?" Central asked. "What's the purpose, why even bother?"

"Well, at the time, we didn't know, until just an hour ago when we finished examining our friend's DNA." Theodora said. "What you see on screen are the unmodified sections that don't match up to the altered ones of the corpse's DNA. Among these are the ones necessary for reproduction, but missing from our friend's DNA are the ones which would otherwise allow her to handle the cold climates."

 _[So she can reproduce, without needing her genes to be modified, what are you getting at?]_ He asked in confusion. _[Unless…]_

"Yes, unless the Vipers we've been fighting so far, did not possess this ability or these genes at first." Doctor Tygan said. "It is our belief, that up until now, we've been fighting a species that possess a large number of members, lacking the ability to reproduce. As you know, by using Human DNA, they have been able to bond alien DNA with it to make up for genetically inferior strands of genes."

"Yet our friend in the cargo bay does not need such gene correction, so her strands were left almost unaffected. The most obvious indication of this, is of course her scale coloration, obviously it indicates that she possesses these genes, whereas the majority of her kind does not." Theodora continued. "Perhaps the reason we don't see nearly as many of 'her' as we've seen of her more genetically modified sisters, is because there are either few of them, or she's one of a kind."

"This would probably coincide with the intel she gave us about her kind, more particularly the male members of her species." Central said as he looked at the DNA strands. "She told us there were 'few' male members, perhaps this is how their population was kept in check. Male members of her kind pairing up with the few females who could reproduce."

 _[It does match up with her orders from her 'Hierarch Mother', she said that her leader told her to stay alive, no matter what.]_ He said in agreement. _[Perhaps she was protecting her species' ability to reproduce by ordering our 'guest' into few combat areas. She also told us that she'd rarely seen combat until recent days, perhaps that is why we encountered her when my Gremlin didn't detect her at first.]_

"You mean she was there by sheer 'coincidence'?" Central asked skeptically.

 _[Tygan has his theories, you have yours, I have mine… well my theories have probability percentages behind them at least.]_ He said before turning to Doctor Tygan. [Very good Tygan, keep up your research into this. In the meantime, I have to make contact with a 'friend' of ours in the city.]

"Very well, I'll get on the comms and see if we have any new leads to that Advent Facility the council asked us to find." Central said as he left the room, heading to the staircase and consequentially the top floor, where his quarters were.

Once inside his room he floated over to the console and keyboard, and began typing in to contact his 'friend' in one of the cities.

After a few seconds his signal was sent and he floated around, waiting for a response. Then after a few moments the console screen beeped, and he flew over to look at a shaded image of a woman's silhouette.

 _[Konichiwa, 'Mademoiselle'…]_ He said to his 'friend'.

{Bonjour, 'Amigo'…} His friend responded, her voice distorted to prevent anyone from identifying her clearly. {I must keep this transmission short, Advent is making it difficult for me and the 'others' in the city to contact you, Commander.}

 _[Understood, then I'll get to the point, have you found out any more information about this new 'Pod Walker', that one of you sent me in your previous transmissions.]_

{We've found out very little, other than that it is supposedly in the final stages of completion.} She responded. {Based on the schematics we've been able to steal, this new Pod Walker is meant to be a heavier combat walker, than the current Sectopod that Advent is using. This Pod Walker seems to maneuver around on six legs, rather than the two you are familiar with, and while sacrificing height it is capable of wielding far heavier armor. At the very least, based on what we've discovered… the same type of armor found on their UFOs.}

 _[Hmmm, that doesn't sound good.]_ He replied, before deciding it was time to end the conversations. _[Continue gathering information, try not to reveal yourself any further.]_

{As you wish… but before I go, I have one final piece of information left that you should be aware of…} She said. {The Hierarch Mother is on to us… she's already ordered investigations into 'Athena', and we believe she suspects 'Mars'. We are not sure how long we can remain hidden to aid your cause.}

 _[Then we best get 'Big Sister' on the case.]_ He said calmly to her. _[Don't worry, Venus, we'll protect you and the others, like always.]_

{Don't worry about us, worry about our species as a whole, Vigilo Confido, Commander. Forever vigilant am I.} She said, before the channel closed, ending the transmission.

With the transmission over he turned to the keyboard again, and began typing in more commands, sending a new signal to another of his contacts, this one being 'Big Sister'. Minutes later the transmission and message were sent, and he once more floated around waiting for a reply.

Fifteen minutes of waiting and examining the resistance's supply necessities, and he heard the screen beeping, indicating he had an incoming message on an open frequency.

He floated back over to the screen and watched as another woman's silhouette appeared. _[Hi big sis.]_ He said in a very friendly voice.

{Hello 'little brother', what seems to be the trouble, 'this time'.} She said in a bored synthesized voice.

 _[Oh, you know, my 'friends' are in a bit of a bind.]_ He responded quite cheerfully. _[It seems 'mommy' found out that Athena was 'skipping school' again. Do you think you could help her out?]_

{Alright little bro, I'll see to it that Athena's 'out of the picture' for a while.} She replied.

 _[Thanks 'Big Sis', just remember, make it look good, so mommy and 'daddy' buy the story!]_ He said with a chuckle.

With that, the transmission ended, yet seconds after it ended he received yet another message, meant for him.

{TE AVATAR FACILITY SN RLY CMPT ND LL SN E ORAI OAL IWI Y OS TLL TA LTE LGER BTC NS TLL FR NG!}

He read the message and nodded, before deleting it from the Avenger's memory. _[Well, at least 'one' of my contacts can always be relied on…]_ He grunted before leaving his room to head to the Command Center.


	6. Chapter 6

{Connection made... opening channel…}

{… psst… psst…}

{… Athena has been discovered… she will not survive long under interrogation…}

{… You must get her out before she is killed… please help her…}

{… The information she has is what ensures our struggle will continue…}

{… Thanks to Big Sister I was able to escape… she has even secured me a new identity…}

{… I am safe for now… but Venus still has yet to make contact with Big Sister…}

{… I just hope Advent… haven't reached her first…}

{Connection Terminated . . .}

=Chapter 6=

=Mercy and 'Big Sister'=

(Viper's PoV)

"So that's the extent of your knowledge concerning the Avatar Project?" Central asked her, having spent the last hour interrogating her for every shred of knowledge she knew.

" **Yes… I know nothing more."** She sighed. **"I was not important enough to be placed for such a position, as being near any facility. I was merely a venom researcher, cataloging the various poisons and toxins this planet had. The Hierarch Mother never assigned me to anything else until that convoy."**

It was her sixth day since she had been captured by the resistance, and today she had divulged the last intelligence she knew that she could offer them. Unfortunately the information they were after, was simply knowledge that she lacked. Despite what they believed, not 'every' alien serving Advent was privy to everything the higher ups knew.

She was merely one Viper, and not even an important one at that. She wasn't worthy or higher up in the chain of command to warrant a psionic chip, and nor did she command anyone else below her. Not even the Advent Troopers listened to her, not that she really bothered trying to give orders.

As far as she knew, there was only one Viper she knew personally that had a psionic chip who could command any Advent forces and had the authority to carry out the Elder's will, and that was the Hierarch Mother.

After a few moments Central looked to the Commander's Gremlin and nodded, before the Gremlin bobbed up and down to mirror the motion. _[Very well, thank you for all you've given us.]_ He said through his robot, though she has honestly never seen the Commander's Face.

Out of every soldier she has seen so far in the resistance, from the various personal and soldiers, and everyone else she has seen thus far on this vessel, one face continued to elude her. That face was the Commander's, the one who spoke to her through his machine and had the soldiers carry out his will.

' _ **It must be a safety concern…'**_ She thought as Eagleeye holstered his rifle and relaxed his stance at the Commander's words. _**'He must want to keep his face secret so I can never threaten him, or reveal who is in charge of the resistance, should I ever escape this place. That information alone would be the only reason they would let me live an extra day…'**_ At that thought she sighed in sadness. _**'Assuming Advent doesn't execute me the moment I walk into any city.'**_

"So, now that you've told us everything, I guess we no longer need to hold you hostage for information." Central said as he leaned back and crossed his arms. "Which begs the question of what we're going to do with you now?"

She looked up at her captors and looked nervously at them, wondering if perhaps they were going to let her go. _[Based on what you've told us, I doubt Advent is going to be lenient with you.]_ The Commander asked her, to which she nodded. _[And, considering that you've pretty much spilled every single secret that we either didn't already know, or could have figured out without you confirming it for us… I doubt they'll just let you go back to them with open arms. Am I correct?]_

She sighed sadly again and nodded. **"Yes…"** She said.

 _[Under normal conditions, we would negotiate with the enemy to return you, however given everything we've learned, Advent doesn't negotiate with 'insurgents', and sending you back would get you killed…]_ The Commander said as his Gremlin floated back and forth. _[Which begs the question of what do we do with you?]_

She looked between the Gremlin, Hawkeye who had taken a seat next to Central, and Central himself who continued to stare at her. **"Will you let me go?"** She asked tentatively.

The Commander looked to her through his Gremlin and shook it to mirror a head shake. _[If I do that, you'll be shot dead by resistance forces within a week if you're lucky, and I'm not risking you giving any Intel on us to Advent before they execute you.]_ He said calmly. _[I hate Advent for what they've done to my people, but that hate does not extend to the individual like yourself. I won't send you to die for what the Advent Administration has done. Which once again brings us full circle, to Central's question, what do we do with you?]_

"Commander, permission to speak?" Hawkeye said to them all.

"Granted." Central said.

"Sir, if sending her back to Advent and letting her go are off the table, what about having our 'guest' serve aboard the Avenger?" He said.

' _ **Serve aboard their vessel…?'**_ She thought in surprise at hearing Hawkeye's suggestion.

 _[That was a possibility, but of course it relies on her choice...]_ He said, before turning to look at her, and she swore there was a subtle change in the way he spoke. _[So tell me… Viper… whose name I do not know still… what do you say? Will you join us in our fight 'against' Advent?]_

There was silence as everyone stared at her for several long minutes, and she simply stared between Hawkeye her sole 'friend' among her enemies, and his Commander's Gremlin, who was obviously watching her with calculating eyes. She was being offered something she didn't dare believe her captors would do, but at the same time… how could she? How could she possibly just turn her back on the only life she knew of, how could she just 'betray' the Elders?

" _ **Why… do you offer me?"**_ She hissed quietly at him while her tail flicked from side to side.

Once again silence dominated the room while she stared at the Commander, and he stared back at her, before he turned to Central and whispered something quietly to him. Then 'he' nodded, got up, and left the room, leaving only Hawkeye, herself, and the floating Gremlin in the room.

 _[I offer you this chance because it's between you joining us… you dying a sad pitiful death at Advent's or the resistance's hands… or you spending the rest of your days a prisoner aboard this vessel.]_ He said sadly to her. _[I know full well you don't like it in this cargo bay, and I don't want to make you a prisoner for the rest of your life. Nobody, not even an alien enemy deserves to be kept in a small space with the threat of death hanging over their heads. I know better than anyone, what it feels like to spend years in a small space, unable to do 'anything' that even the lowliest prisoner can do. And I'd rather have you join us than kill you or chain you to this room…]_

He turned to Hawkeye who nodded in agreement. _[Hawkeye has told me that you are not as cruel as some of our more… aggressive… enemies have been to us in the past, and I have seen it myself.]_ He looked back at her and extended a mechanical arm which had a claw to imitate a hand attached to it. _[The choice is yours… join us… or leave the ship and take your chances. If you join us, I can at least assure you, that once you leave this room, you'll be 'welcomed', instead of hunted. The crew has had a good five to six days to get used to you, and while some still don't like you, they've at least come to 'tolerate' you better. Also… I can promise you that if you join us, your 'living conditions', will be vastly improved… at least for a while.]_

"Believe me, you won't get better than those promises." Hawkeye said with a gentle smile, a smile that she has come to appreciate greatly over the last few days.

She nodded in understanding before looking down at the ground, then back at what has been her living space. She's hardly had a good night's sleep because it was so cold in this cargo bay, and the only friendly humans in the resistance have been Hawkeye, the kindest of all so far, and those soldiers who began watching her on her second day.

Some of them didn't mind her, others didn't care about her, but there were a few, starting the day before, that she had come to like and respect. One of them, was of course Hawkeye, whom she felt she had a kindred connection to after hearing him talk about himself during their many interactions while he watched over her.

They both had lost family and friends in this war, they had both been forced into positions they didn't want to be in, and while they had been on opposite sides they had both retained a gentle outlook on life to the best of their abilities. He only ever killed enemies he was ordered to by a superior officer, and only after they tried to kill him. She only ever fought to protect herself, and ever since her Hierarch Mother had given her that order, only to ensure she survived.

" **What will I have to do?"** She asked the Commander, looking up at the Gremlin.

 _[Simple, you'll be a deck hand, you help move stuff around, clean up gear and rooms, and assist with whoever needs help.]_ He replied. _[It aint the glorious combat life that the main squads do for the resistance, but it's better than being shot at. If you work hard, don't complain too much, and earn the crew's trust and respect, you may even get a promotion or two.]_

She thought about the work she would have to do, and decided that, considering her available options, what the Commander said was true, it didn't sound too bad. If she showed her resolve and trust for them, they may even give her a chance to study venoms again, or even promote her to work for their scientific research.

She nodded in understanding and smiled warmly at him, before reaching forward and shaking the Gremlin's mechanical claw. **"I will join you then…"**

"Welcome to X-Com then." Hawkeye said, reaching forward and shaking her hand after she finished shaking the Commander's Gremlin. "Course now that you're joining us, you'll need a name for us to call you by. In all honesty we still don't know what to call you."

She nodded and tried to think of something for them to call her, but it was a rather… strange sensation. For so many months, years even, decades now that she thought about it, all she was ever called was 'Sister', or 'Daughter' by the Hierarch Mother. Yet these Humans and their names, were something she never grasped or thought about.

" **I can't think of name…"** She said sourly. **"Never had a reason to be considered… unique… among so many to the Elders…"**

 _[Well… 'we' like to consider everyone 'unique'…]_ The Commander replied, before looking at Hawkeye. _[Have you got a name to suggest?]_

Hawkeye crossed his arms behind him and thought for a second, before looking at her eyes and smiled. "Mercy…" He said.

 _[Mercy… sounds appropriate… a bit on the bland side but I've got nothing better, and I'm too busy to come up with any better names. So… do you mind if we call you 'Mercy'?]_

She smiled and nodded in acceptance. **"Mercy… my name is… Mercy."** She said proudly, feeling a strange 'tingling' sensation as she called herself by her new name.

She had a name, what the Elders have denied her and so many others of her kind for centuries, these Humans have given her in a day. They also wouldn't force her to fight, and won't punish her for not fighting to the death.

' _ **Perhaps they are not as 'bad' as I once thought… I may like working for the resistance.'**_ She thought with a chuckle.

 _[Well, now that you're joining the resistance, I'm sure you'll be wanting to get out of that armor.]_ The Commander said, looking at her. _[Hawkeye will escort you down to Engineering where Shen, our Chief Engineer, is looking for some extra help with a new project I've got her working on, after you carry out your first task aboard this ship, which Hawkeye will explain. Afterwards you can help Shen out and get something else to where besides that armor, I'll show you your new temporary living space later.]_ After that he turned to Hawkeye and said, _[Hawkeye, I leave her to you, dismissed!]_

With that the Gremlin floated over to the door, punched in a code and floated out, leaving the door open for her and Hawkeye.

"Alright Mercy, follow me." Hawkeye said as got up and stretched his arms.

She nodded and smiled inwardly again at hearing her name. There was just something nice about being called by a personal name, now she knew why Hawkeye and the others chose to give themselves their 'names', they sounded really special.

Though her name didn't have the same sort of 'power' that the others she knew of, it had a special meaning for her, and that was all that mattered.

As she left her cell she looked and saw the other members of the 'squad' of resistance soldiers who had captured her, with exception to the white haired individual named, 'Falcon'.

"Finally, took you guys long enough to finish." Puppy said as she stretched, her weapon hanging over her shoulder. "Can we get started already? I'm missing combat training at the firing range!"

"Puppy, stop complaining, you're giving me a headache." Sharptooth replied with a sigh, shaking her head in disbelief.

" **Get, started?"** She asked them, thoroughly confused at what they were talking about.

Puppy pointed behind her, and she turned to see several cargo containers and moving equipment that she was familiar with. "Moving all of this stuff back into the cargo bay." Puppy said. "This was the stuff the crew had to move out in a hurry when you came on board so you could stay in there, it's been lying around in half of our quarters and we finally got the okay to move it back down here."

"Yea, and since 'we' were the ones to bring you on board, minus the Commander, we get the fun job of moving everything back in." Eagleeye said with a chuckle as his Gremlin floated over them.

"So as they say back in my hometown, misery loves company." Hawkeye said as he went over and grabbed a container. "If we have to suffer, you suffer as well Mercy."

"Not what they say in my hometown!" T-Rex chuckled as he was the next to pick up a container with Sharptooth's help.

"And what do they say in good ol Jamaica?" Sharptooth groaned as she and he moved around while Puppy used one of the movers to pick up another heavier container.

"Before dawg go widout suppa, im nyam cockroach." T-Rex chuckle. "Make do with what is available to you!"

"I swear half the time it sounds like he's speaking English…" Puppy said as she passed by her. "Well start lifting, if we gata carry these boxes, you gata help us as well!"

" **Very well…"** She said as she went to one of the smaller boxes and lifted it up.

The work was slow, and for the most part uneventful as she helped move box after box. There were dozens and dozens of containers, crates, random heavy equipment and other supplies that she and the Sharks had to move.

The first bit of 'excitement' came in the form of Puppy accidentally stepping on her tail as she slithered by.

" **Heeeeea!"** She screamed as her tail was stepped on.

She looked back and pulled her tail back as Puppy jumped in surprise. "Sorry…" Puppy said with a nervous smile.

She hissed in frustration as she moved back to the hallway to grab the next box.

For the next hour she helped move boxes and containers, one after another. But then something 'exciting' happened, at least for the members of the Land Sharks squad.

{Emergency: Attention Water Dragon squad, report to the armory for weapon and armor refit, repeat all Water Dragon squad members report to the armory for weapon and armor refit.}

At that message over the intercom they all walked over to another container and pulled out a large screen, while Eagleeye had his Gremlin connect to it with a datapad. "Wow, Water Dragon squad, he must have something big in mind if he's bringing them for a mission." Hawkeye said.

"Oh yea, and you want us to go in their place?" Sharptooth said as she plugged in the screen.

" **Who are these… 'Water Dragons'?** She asked as she moved another box, thoroughly confused as to why they were so eager to talk and stop working. **"They are squad like you?"**

"Yea, but the Water Dragons are like… well how's the nicest way to put it?" Hawkeye said.

"They're all fans of big explosions?" Sharptooth said.

"More like they got none of the finesse or skill that the Land Sharks got!" Puppy yelled from behind a box. "They've got three Grenadiers, two Technicians, and one Psi Operative for multipurpose support. The Commander uses them for really tough jobs that require more explosive firepower that the Land Sharks and the Gamma Raptors can't do. They have the power to shred two Sectopods with no effort, and capable of dealing extreme damage to Advent. They go in loud and leave even louder."

" **Gamma Raptors?"** She asked, now very interested in hearing about the resistances forces, and wondering how many squads this 'Commander' had at his disposal. **"This is another squad?"**

"The Gamma Raptors, the Commander's 'precision' squad." Puppy explained as she rummaged through another pair of boxes and pulled out some chairs. "The Raptors, like their namesake, are put in for precise missions that require speed and accuracy. They're equipped with two Rangers like the Land Sharks, one Grenadier, one Technician, and two Rookies. Though one of their rookies is undergoing Ranger Training. Their specialty is moving quietly, quickly, and coordinating their movements with the Commander. They almost never face more than two enemy patrols unless something goes wrong."

She was wide eyed in surprise at how Puppy described her fellow squads with such detail. She was also impressed by how their Commander had formed these 'Squads' for various tasks. While she was a member of Advent, they all seemed to have been equally powerful, equally dangerous. Now she knew the real reason why Advent was having difficulty with the resistance forces.

It was because their Commander had created these 'squads', each one designed for a specific scenario.

" **So… what are you then?"** She asked Puppy.

"We are the Land Sharks!" Puppy cheered, forming a V with her fingers. "The Land Sharks are the Commander's best team. His ace crew for any and all situations, we're the team that goes in for the tough jobs the other two can't do. We have accuracy and long range coverage, a good balance of firepower and tactical strength of a Technician and Grenadier, and the power of a Psi Operative to aid in any situation!"

"Not to mention the rookie for bullet bait and to carry our med kits." Sharptooth chuckled as the screen turned on, showing what looked like a group of people in the same shuttle that she had boarded.

"Shut up!" Puppy said as everyone took seats to watch to screen.

She slid next to Hawkeye's chair and curled up her lower body so she could lay comfortably on the floor to watch.

 _ **{Advent has captured a very important person to the resistance and is keeping them hostage Dragons, and our 'spokesperson' has requested we get her out of there. Your mission is to get in, get the VIP, and get out before Advent can lock us out from rescuing you. They know we're on the way, and radar shows UFOs on approach, ETA fifteen minutes. Good luck Dragons.}**_ They all heard Central saying over a speaker while an image showed what looks like a building in one of the cities.

Suddenly she saw the lights change and everyone stand up, checking their weapons and assuming positions. Yet the camera suddenly swung around and faced the door, just as it was opening, and she watched it fly outward, turn around, and watch as the six members of 'Water Dragons' squad grab ahold of ropes and slide down into a rainstorm. Into a very familiar city that she recognized.

" **City Alpha Seven three five?"** She said, remembering the name of the city in the Eastern North American region that her convoy was on route to.

"Looks like it, man do some of those streets look familiar." Eagleeye said as he leaned back in his chair. "If I recall correctly, I almost got killed there, luckily my little bird had healing protocols on it."

"And I suppose spending the night in the infirmary didn't have 'anything' to do with it?" Sharptooth asked.

While the two bantered she continued to watch the mission play out on the screen. What confused her at first was why the floor and road, and even the sidewalks and water of the city were divided into squares, and why they were seeing everything from an aerial point of view.

"It's the Commander's Gremlin, this is how he gives us our orders." Hawkeye explained as the group made their way to a building, almost instantly being spotted by a squad of Advanced Advent Troopers and an Officer. "We each wear special helmets with eyepieces that gives us his commands in real time, he can even give us paths to take and probabilities on how successful our aim may be. He can do this thanks to his Gremlin being there on the field with us, and he can see everything from his height so he can provide us information that we wouldn't know otherwise."

" **That's amazing… we have no such coordination…"** She replied as the Grenadiers released two plasma grenades, destroying any cover her former allies had.

As the explosions drew the attention of the Advent forces, the 'Technicians' and Grenadiers of the Water Dragons began to unleash their explosive weaponry on their Advent enemies. First they shredded the armor of an advanced Lancer, and was promptly destroy by a Technician's 'Shredder Shotgun'. Then they watched as the Psi Operative used what she recognized as a psionic attack, and panicked one of the Officers, causing him to poorly throw his grenade, damaging himself and two of the Troopers nearby.

Yet while the Water Dragons battled and destroyed Advent's forces, even as they tried to swarm and overwhelm them, the clock was ticking in the corner of the screen. After they cleared up the three squads sent to reinforce the one guarding the perimeter of the building, only seven minutes remained of their allotted fifteen that Central had told them.

" **Is the Water Dragons squad… always so destructive?"** She hissed in confusion as they destroyed the door, and consequentially an enemy Trooper hiding behind it, with another Plasma Grenade. **"That looked… unnecessary."**

"Now you see why we don't like the Water Dragons as much as us, they are way too explosive happy for their own good." Puppy said as she leaned back in her chair. "We prefer to handle things our way, like the Raptors. That and they leave little salvage for us to make use of."

" **Salvage?"** She asked as three of the Water Dragons moved into the building, and the Commander's Gremlin showed the inside of the building for them.

"Salvage, basically everything we collect from the field as we move through out missions." Hawkeye said as they watched the Dragons move up to another floor, moving quickly as the timer ticked down. "It's the only way we've been able to build up our weaponry and armor, as well as upgrade our existing weapons."

' _ **That explains why so many materials are so familiar…'**_ She thought, remembering the various supplies and materials she's seen while peeking into the boxes as she stacked them.

She had seen many scraps of alloys, materials, and spare parts that she was familiar with in those boxes, but she didn't pay them any mind until he mentioned 'salvage'.

"Hey look, they're about to release whoever Advent was keeping prisoner." Puppy said as the camera zoomed in to a technician as he began hacking into a door.

As they watched, the door opened and out walked what appeared to be a human female, tanned skin, sporting several bruises, and looking around at them with a look of intense relief on her face. She smiled to the Commander's Gremlin and nodded as they exchanged words, before they turned to another explosion occurring in the room next to theirs, where one of the Grenadiers had blown a hole in the floor.

' _ **They're risking their lives… the resistance is fighting this battle… to rescue a single human?'**_ She thought in wonder.

"Well, that's 'one' way to make a quick exit." T-Rex said with a chuckle.

"They gata hurry, time's running out to get her out…" Puppy said as they began jumping down, with one of the soldiers helping her jump down.

It was true, the timer showed only three minutes left before Advent's forces arrived. As she watched two more squads of Advent Soldiers appearing, this time one of them accompanied by a Gatekeeper.

"Whoa… a Gatekeeper…" Puppy said. "She must be really important to warrant a Gatekeeper."

" **Can they… fight one?"** She asked, knowing only that the Gatekeepers were supremely powerful, and immensely hard to kill through their armored shells.

"Not enough time, they gata book it!" Hawkeye said as two of the Grenadiers began providing fire as the rest of the group made their way to their escape ship, with the female woman covering her head to avoid as much of the fire as she could.

As they neared the escape the Gatekeeper moved to block their path, opening up its shell to reveal its fleshy psionic body, and unleashed a powerful psionic attack which damaged all of them but the woman, who dodged it by mere inches. Instantly the Psi Operative with them countered with his own, concentrating his power through his weapon and unleashing an equally devastating attack, forcing the Gatekeeper to retreat back into its metallic shell.

The remaining soldiers took aim and unleashed a flurry of plasma shots and destroyed it, causing it to explode in a shower of psionic power and metal bits. Without any more hesitation they pushed for the Evac ship, and began lifting up into it, only going after the woman was safely aboard.

"And thus the Water Dragons go out with a bang!" Hawkeye said as Eagleeye disconnected his Gremlin from the screen, and they all began to put everything away. "Alright guys, show's over, back to work."

"I still think the Commander shoulda put us in there." Sharptooth said, confusing Mercy as she tried to register what was going on.

" **That was… show?"** She asked in confusion.

"Hey, only one squad can go in at a time, so the other two tend to watch from the Commander's POV via the broadcast network he gives us. We have work to do half the time when we aint on a mission, so might as well entertain ourselves by watching when we can." Hawkeye said. "You'll get used to it, for now, I'll take you up to Shen so you can help out in Engineering." He turned to the other sharks as he finished talking. "You guys can handle the rest right?"

"Oh sure, let snake lady get off easy, leave the dirty work to us!" Puppy complained.

"Stow it Puppy, or I'll put you in the kennel." Sharptooth yelled as Hawkeye led her out.

They walked up the stairs for several levels before he led her through a door labeled '6', and then they walked down a hallway that was lined with various supply boxes and crates.

As they walked toward the end of the Hallway she saw several sparking lights flashing on the corridor wall, and before long she saw the source was coming from several human engineers working on various tables, welding pieces of hardware together.

She also heard the loud commotions going on inside as Hawkeye opened the door.

"Get me another Duratanium plate!"

"Where's dat LCD Wire?"

"I needz anozer Flotation Pad for zis unit!"

"Someone pass me that three two five T-bite MB!"

"Who took the bloody Synchro Laser?"

All around the room humans wearing protective face masks, wearing gloves, wielding tools and working various equipment were around the room, all in heavily stained and dirty overalls. So busy with their work that none of them noticed her or Hawkeye opening the door. Yet as soon as she slithered in and someone looked up and noticed her, did they finally pay her any attention.

Then the activity stopped in an instant.

"Chief Engineer Shen, I have our 'guest' from downstairs here at the Commander's request." Hawkeye said as he put his hands behind his back, and she mirrored his actions. "Her name is 'Mercy', and she's here to lend any assistance your team needs.

A human female, apparently this 'Chief Engineer Shen', nodded and walked forward and removed her protective face mask, revealing a face with similar facial features to Puppy, but obviously more mature and extremely tired. "I know, we could use all the help." She said as she undid her gloves and held out her hand. "Hello Mercy, I'm Shen, Chief Engineer. That's all you need to know for now."

She nodded and replicated the gesture, wrapping her hand around Shen's, and 'shaking' it, based on what she knew of the few human customs she bothered remembering. **"How can I help?"**

"You can start by putting this on!" She said instantly as she reached around and pulled a large and very heavy looking piece of clothing, as well as a protective mask. "It's a modified overall that we use down here, you can use it while working here. Just put it on, pull the belt, put this mask on and follow me."

"I'll leave you then Shen, I've got to head downstairs." Hawkeye said, and within seconds she was alone again.

After a few minutes of figuring out how to put the clothes on, and everyone went back to work, apparently too busy to pay her any attention now that she was there, and Shen led her to a gap in the work station. "Alright here's what we're doing, we have to get these MK III Gremlin bodies ready for the next mission, your job is to take these alloy pieces and weld them together so that they form 'this' shape." She said, showing her a blueprint image of what she was making and shoving a box of broken alloys close to her. "Get started, we got no time to waste, Commander could have another mission lined up when they get back and we haven't even finished the main bodies for two of the new Gremlin models!"

She nodded and, after making sure she knew how the 'welder' worked, began to weld the small pieces of alloys together according to the image in front of her.

All the while listening to the various chatter from the other engineers that were working close by.

"Can't believe we have to work alongside 'that'…" Someone complained bitterly.

"Vwat is the Commander thinking… bringing 'her' on board?" Another whispered.

"Bet you she's just waiting to turn on us the moment we drop our guard." The first person said.

"Shut it everyone, we got work to do, now get back to work!" Shen yelled, instantly ending the conversations. "Commander wants this stuff ready by TOMORROW, that means 'TODAY' in Commander talk. Now hurry up with those Flotation arms so we can get these units finished!"

She tried to ignore the words as she focused on the work, but even as she welded pieces of alloy together, she couldn't help but feel the stinging of their words.

' _ **They tolerate me… but they do not like me…'**_ She thought, realizing that the crew was different from the Land Sharks squad.

The Land Sharks didn't necessarily mind her, but trust and friendship were far from the minds of everyone else aboard this vessel.

' _ **At least they aren't shooting at me, like I feared they would when I first came on board…'**_

(The Commander's PoV, Hours Later)

"I can't begin to thank you enough Commander." Elizabeth said to him. "I thought I was going to die in that building."

 _[It's alright Athena, I told you that we would protect you and the others.]_ He said to her as they entered the command center. _[I'm just sorry that your accommodations on board won't be what you're used to in the city. We don't have much space for living here on board the Avenger. A woman of your engineering skills deserves better than what we have to offer.]_

They had returned to the Avenger just a few minutes ago, and from there made their way to the command center to debrief Central and introduce her.

"Considering what was going to happen to me, I think I'll survive." She said with a laugh.

They entered the command center and over to Central, who was reading a clip board and examining the holographic globe in the center of the room, where he was keeping track of Advent movements and locations the resistance marked for them. "Commander, 'Athena', welcome back and welcome aboard the Avenger." He said politely. "Commander, we have some intel on the Avalon Facility to discuss, if you'd like I can have someone take you to your quarters Athena."

"With all due respect Central… I'd rather much head down to Engineering to see what help I can be." She said. "I've done nothing but sit in an Advent interrogation cell for the past three days, I'd like to get back to work, working for the resistance however I can. Since I can't exactly gather anymore data on their 'Pod Walker' model, I'd like to do something constructive. Besides… I've had enough time to rest sitting in that cell."

"Very well, Engineering is downstairs, follow the signs and you should find it. Later I'll debrief you on the information you have about the Pod Walker." He said respectfully.

"Thank you, until then Central, Commander." She said with a respectful bow to both of them, before turning around and leaving the command center.

He watched her leaving and turned back to the globe. _[We're running out of informants on the inside Central. We can't lose many more before the Intel we can gain becomes almost zero.]_

"Yes, but at least we saved her, and Mars managed to get away before they discovered him." Central said, reading the report in his hand.

 _[But we haven't heard anything from Venus… I just hope Big Sister got to her in time.]_ He said. _[Alright, gimme your report, have we found 'anything' about the location of the Avalon facility?]_

"I've had resistance forces scouring the Arctic Region, but Advent security is as tight as it's ever been." He said as the globe changed to a map of the Arctic. "We've isolated it to one of four possible locations. Resistance forces indicate that these areas alone are being controlled and monitored by Advent's forces. None of our teams have been able to penetrate the defensive grid they've established, and we've got reports of possible heavy AA turrets controlling the space deeper in."

He looked at the four circles of Advent forces that were preventing them from finding out any new Intel with disdain. _[We can't risk a twenty five percent chance of finding this facility Central based on a guess… that facility is almost fully operational, once it goes up, we might never be able to shut it down. We need more information.]_

"Well, there have been heavy cargo trains going in the direction of two of these dead zones, but resistance forces haven't been able to determine or deter any of them or exactly where they're going." Central said as two of the dead zones were highlighted.

 _[That narrows it down two the two larger zones… but they're both large enough to contain the facility if it's as large as we were told. We need more concrete evidence to be sure…]_ He said, eyeing the zones through his optical eyes. _[If this facility were connected to the Advent Network…]_ He floated over to one of the communications consoles. _[Soldier, I'm temporarily relieving you of your station.]_

The com man nodded and got up while Central walked over with a curious look on his face. "What are you doing Commander?"

 _[Cut off all other outgoing and incoming transmissions!]_ He ordered as he connected his Gremlin into the com station. _[I'm making a call to 'Big Sister'… if anyone can give me solid concrete evidence to Avalon's location, it'll be her.]_

"Big Sister… your taking a risk by contacting Big Sister through the Command Center." He said as everyone began carrying out his orders. "But how can you contact someone working in the Advent's security network?"

 _[Central… Big Sister isn't working 'in' Advent's security network.]_ He said, knowing that he was about to reveal his greatest inside source's secret identity.

"What?" He said. "But you've always told me that Big Sister has gotten you Intel by accessing Advent's security network, that's how she's been able to supply the Council with vital information for us."

 _[Funny thing about what I told you, I was withholding half of the truth about 'Big Sister'… she isn't even a real person.]_ He said as more communications systems went offline. _[Tell me Central… do you remember what people in the United States referred to its Domestic Surveillance system as?]_

"Yea they referred to it as 'Big Brother'… wait a minute… your telling me, that 'Big Sister'…"

 _[Is Big Brother's more subtle, less noticed, sister surveillance system.]_ He said with an inward grin. _[Just before Advent took over, specific members of the Council of Nations from the 'old days', created this network to help us scan for alien activity, but it was never put into effect. The Council took the only copy of the system and planted it into the Advent Network when it went online.]_

There was silence as the last signals were silenced, before Central asked the big question. "So… what is 'Big Sister'?"

 _[Big Sister is an AI surveillance system, designed to gather information from around the world, condense it, and translate it at a speed greater than 'any' individual system could.]_ He said. _[When Advent took over, Big Sister was hidden inside their network, and from there she spread throughout the system, hacking into their databases and anything else she can get her systems around. She was programmed to assist any human efforts against our 'uninvited guests', and provide information where necessary.]_ He turned to Central and looked into his impressed eyes. _[After I was brought back, I contacted her, and updated her programing with a personality to help make her easier to work with, and less noticeable by Advent's network. The only way she can contact anyone is via their communication network.]_

"But Advent monitors every message going out, how has she kept herself hidden all this time?"

 _[She hasn't, in fact she gets discovered at least seven hundred and twenty five times a day, and they delete her from their system like a virus each time. She's been 'killed' three hundred and eighty seven times in the last two weeks alone. But she's quite adept at keeping herself one step ahead of Advent's counter measures to her. She's implanted herself in nearly every system across the Advent network, short of their psionic network, and each time she gains new information, she saves a copy of herself or updates her backups in each part of the network she's implanted herself into. They'd have to completely wipe out their whole network and rebuild it from scratch to get rid of her, the moment they delete her from a system she re-hacks into it and goes back to work, monitoring and gathering information.]_

"That's quite a system." He said. "So how do you contact her so that we don't get discovered?"

 _[Your about to find out, from here on everyone remain absolutely silent, not a word until this transmission ends!]_ He ordered as he made his call.

Fifteen minutes of waiting later, and the screen beeped, indicating a transmission was coming in.

 _{Hello little brother, how's Russia?}_ A bored synthesized female voice said over the coms.

 _[Hi big sis, you know, it's really cold out here, auntie and uncle say hi!]_ He replied in an enthusiastic voice.

Everyone on the bridge looked flabbergasted at him when he said those words.

 _{So what's up little brother, did you forget something when you left home to visit our relatives, again?}_ She said.

 _[You know me all too well big sis, I left my video game 'Avalon Fighter 7' back in the school's science facilities. I think I left it in my desk, do you think you could go and make sure it's there for me?]_

 _{Of course little brother, what would you do without me? I'll stop by later when I'm heading for my class and ask the teacher if I can check for you.}_ She chuckled. _{So, you want to hear what dad's making for dinner?}_

 _[Oh no, what torture for your stomach is he making today?]_ He chuckled back.

 _{Dad's making his famous Chicken Soup with Barley Beef… sorry little brother but I've got a lot of homework to do and I can hear dad coming upstairs. I really hate being grounded. Call me when you have time again, and say hi to auntie and uncle for me. Oh and do me a favor, get me an acorn from your hike if you get a chance, you know, for my collection.}_

 _[Will do big sis, chow!]_ He said, before the connection was severed at the source.

Seconds later he disconnected himself and looked to the bridge. _[Get us back online, set course for the Arctic Region, and reestablish all resistance cell contacts!]_

"Commander, what is going on, do you know where the Avalon Facility is?" Central asked as he floated to the globe.

 _[Big Sister told us where to find the facility.]_ He said simply.

"She did, but she didn't give us any coordinates?"

 _[It's on an open frequency, she can't say anything that Advent might and 'will' hear from her end. So she gave us the directions in code.]_ He said as he plugged himself into the map, punching in the coordinates. _[The coordinates are in the letters of the food she told me, Chicken Soup with Barely Beef, 7, 4, 6, and 4. Longitude 74 by Latitude 64, the smaller of the two dead zones. She also mentioned she wanted me to get her an acorn from my 'hike', which is her code for 'follow the train tracks'. You said the trains were going to both of them yes?]_

"Yes, she was able to determine the facility's location that fast?" He asked.

 _[You'd be surprised how fast she can acquire and process data. She knows everything that we know, and Advent knows, it's how she's been able to keep us off the radar, and ensure our informants are safe from retaliation. Unfortunately she can't tell us everything, nor can we download her on board, otherwise learning everything Advent knows would be a piece of cake. Advent monitors everything she does, even making contact with is a difficult task to do safely for her.]_

"So how is it you contact her without Advent knowing?"

 _[She's programmed to respond to a signal that I send to her, once she receives it she spends time setting up dummy signals so she has time to safely contact us. She also responds to voice authorization, only a few people have permission to access her, if anyone attempts to talk to her that isn't authorized, she terminates the connection instantly.]_

"Impressive…" He said as the Avenger began changing course, heading toward the Arctic region, where the Avalon facility was waiting for them.

=author's notes=

Yea, i apologize to everyone that my chapters aren't coming out as fast, school drags me down a lot.

So to whoever it is thats complaining that i apparently 'copied' a character from another... i guess anime... game, something? Basically Puppy.

To whoever you are, leave my characters alone, any similarities between my characters and other characters, that aren't assosiated with my fics, are purely coincidental. I just chose 15 years old for her because i wanted a young, inexperienced XCom agent. Nicknamed her puppy because she's so young, and gave her a love of the Gremlins because, hey, they're floating pieces of hardware capable of zapping, healing, and hacking, why wouldn't you be interested in them?


	7. Chapter 7

{Incoming Unauthorized Transmission. . . Connection Established . . .}

{… To those who hear this message… be warned…}

{… The future is unavoidable… the path is set…}

{… A mediocre resistance will end… starting with a traitor…}

{… Soon all will see the truth… of the grand design…}

{Those who do not side with us… will be cast aside like the pawns they are…}

{... Connection Terminated . . .}

=Chapter 7=

=The Train to Avalon=

(Central Bradford's PoV)

"Do you have a signal on his location?" He asked Shen as he paced the command center.

"For the last time Central, no, he's cut off signals, and this snowstorm doesn't help our signal strength either." Shen said in an annoyed expression. "If he wants to contact us, his Gremlin can easily establish a connection if it just boosts its signal."

"Well I don't like how he went out alone in that snowstorm, if our resistance forces in this region couldn't penetrate their defenses, what chance does a single unarmed Gremlin have?" He asked more to himself.

"Central, it's only been four hours, give him some time." Shen said calmly, but he too could hear the worry in her voice. "He's not entirely helpless in that Gremlin, it has additional armor since the last time I worked on it, and I've even given him a minor electrical shield to protect him from damage. As far as protection goes, he's perfectly set, and as long as he stays far enough away from Advent's forces, he shouldn't attract attention."

"Yea but he's trying to scout for information alone." He said again. "I'd feel more comfortable if he had a squad with him as backup."

"Yes well, the Commander said no, and I'm just Chief Engineer, he outranks me." Shen said as she crossed her arms. "I'm not going to question him and I'm not going to try and say otherwise. That's your job."

"I tried, but he said no as well." He said with a sigh. "I wish he would contact us with an update, all he's done is signal us with hourly messages to indicate his Gremlin is still functioning. Speaking of which, how long before the next signal."

There was a loud beeping signal over the intercom at that exact moment, and they all turned to the globe in the center of the room to see it change to a map of their surroundings. In the center where they had landed in the Arctic Region, was the Avenger, surrounded by an expanse of forest.

As they watched they saw a single blip on the map, indicating where the Commander's Gremlin was signaling from. They saw it was close by, but it was almost the same location as it was before, or at least in the same general vicinity of where it had been an hour ago.

"Well, at least we know his Gremlin's still working." Shen said as she began checking the signal. "He's sent us another update embedded in the signal."

He walked over to her and looked at the garbled technical stuff that only Shen could understand. "What's it say?"

"Says… he's on his way back, and he wants Dr. Tygan to prepare two complete sets of undamaged Advent Trooper Armor for two members of Land Sharks squad." She said.

"Understood." He replied before bringing up Tygan on the coms. "Dr. Tygan, this is Central, Commander has orders for you. He wants you to prepare two complete sets of undamaged Advent Trooper Armor for members of the Land Sharks squad."

"Understood Central, it will take a few hours, but I should be able to scrounge up two complete sets." He said calmly.

With that said they once again paced around the command center, while the bridge crew monitored everything their sensors read, and he read reports from the various resistance cells around the world.

Then they heard a loud beeping as the Commander signaled them again. "Transmission from the Commander Sir!" Someone said.

"What's it say?" He asked.

Seconds later he read it out. "Commander says he wants to debrief you in the command center on the Intel he's learned, ETA five minutes."

"Five minutes, why the rush?" He said, until he thought of something. "How long has it been since he recharged the Gremlin's Battery?"

"Just over four hours, he should still have a little under two hours left, plenty of time to get back unless…" Shen started saying until her face suddenly turned slightly pale.

"Unless what?" He asked impatiently.

"Unless… the upgrades I gave his Gremlin drained more of his battery then I calculated." She whispered. "The upgrades I made to his Gremlin before he went out were based off of the new MK III Gremlins. Their charges are nearly sixty percent stronger than what the Commander's using in his Gremlin. So if he's coming back this early when he should have at least two more hours of battery life left, either he learned something really big or his battery is about to run out…"

"GET THOSE DOORS OPEN NOW!" Central ordered as he rushed over to the console and began tapping into the Commander's signal.

Minutes later they heard the sound of a Gremlin's Hoverpads humming as the Commander floated in, moving slowly as he reached one of the consoles before landing heavily on the console itself.

(Commander's PoV)

 _[Plug me in…]_ He said hastily.

Without another word Shen ran over to them, before pulling a charging cable and connecting him to it. Instantly his Gremlin's battery began charging and he sighed in relief.

 _[That was close… another ten minutes, and I would be a goner.]_

"What happened to your battery, why are you back so soon Commander?" Central asked in frustration.

 _[Snowstorm was pushing my Gremlin's flotation pads more than normal.]_ He replied simply. _[The added weight from the extra armor and shielding constantly activating to protect against the snow didn't help either, drained my battery more than usual. In any case, it was worth it, I've got the Intel we needed Central.]_

"So you know where Avalon is?"

He shifted himself around to the globe in the middle and tapped into the Avenger's database, and began uploading the information he learned. Within minutes a massive holographic building, exactly like the Avalon facility appeared.

 _[I know where it is, but I don't know what's inside, couldn't get close enough to the facility to get a good look. I couldn't penetrate the defenses either to get close enough without risking being spotted. Took a good two hours just sitting around and hopping from hiding spot to hiding spot, just to get past the patrols, and that didn't even include all the defensive turrets. This place puts the most heavily fortified cities and locations in Advent to shame. Think Fort Knox from the old days, multiply that by ten, and your still only halfway to that level of security.]_

The screen changed to show a massive scaled down five meter tall and four meter wide turret with dual plasma cannons.

 _[They've established seventeen lines of heavy AA Turrets like you thought Central, all of them ringing the facility, in intervals of six meters ringing the facility in rows. Each line of turrets include at least thirty, with the last ring only having seventeen. They're programmed and armed to shoot down anything flying six feet higher than they are tall, one of them almost locked onto me before I noticed it. We can't take the Skyranger to the facility, they'll shoot us down before we'll even get a glimpse of the place, let alone land at it. These things are also equipped with the most advanced targeting systems I've ever seen, the first perimeter of turrets alone would destroy us before the second has to take aim! We can't shut down the turrets either, they're all receiving power from the Avalon Facility, and they're all set to raise the alarm if one is shut off for any reason.]_

"So we walk there, it'll be a bit of a stroll but at least we can bypass the turrets." Central said.

 _[I'm afraid that won't work either…]_ He said as the hologram changed to reveal a patrol of Advent Troopers moving. _[Advent's got the place under constant surveillance, I estimated at least three hundred Troopers ringing and patrolling each perimeter between the first line of Turrets, and the last line close to the facility itself. In total, five thousand one hundred soldiers guarding the place. The patrols get closer and closer with each perimeter you penetrate, eventually they'll be so close you'd never get past without one of em spotting you. The patrols themselves keep in constant contact, every five minutes they call in to report their position. If one fails to call in, the nearby patrols investigate, and if they don't call in, the alarm is raised.]_

The hologram changed again to reveal several circles surrounding the facility and dots marking the turret locations. They circled the facility in the woods except for a small avenue that was devoid of patrols and turrets. _[If we tried slipping through the ground way, there'd be no way to slip through without being spotted. Once one of the patrols either fails to check in, or reports an intruder, it's a good five minutes before every patrol nearby is on the scene. We'd be surrounded and overwhelmed within minutes. There's no way we'd make it through without being slaughtered.]_

"What about this avenue here, why is this devoid of patrols and turrets?" Shen asked as she pointed at the hologram.

 _[That area is only devoid of patrols every seven hours when a train leaves a station nearby, and travels to the facility to drop off supplies.]_ He said as he zoomed in to reveal a single station and train. _[Once the train begins leaving and heading for the facility, the avenue is devoid of patrols while it passes through. But the defensive AA turrets are still active and remain so, anything traveling through that zone would be shot down just as easily. Plus there are sensors lining the avenue, so anything that sends off a radio signal that doesn't travel through the Advent Network or the Advent Psionic Network, will alert the base.]_

 _The hologram changed again to show the same scanning lights that were in every Advent city, only modified so the beams were constantly active and scanning._

 _[They even have bio scanners that detect the smallest life form, anything larger than a bird will set them off like fireworks. They also operate under the same mechanism as the turrets, if one is shut down or operates differently than what it's supposed to, it'll set off the alarm. If anything sets off an alarm, they'll lock down the entire area and nobody will be allowed in or out of the area until battleships arrive to sweep the place clean. The window to travel through that avenue is only half an hour, and it takes a good three hours on foot to reach the place without stopping, and that's of course without a patrol spotting you. There is no way we can get in through normal means without them discovering us.]_

"You're telling me we can't reach this facility?" Central asked skeptically. "There has to be a way to get to in, there's no way you're telling us it's impossible."

 _[I never said it was impossible, only impossible if we try going about it using our normal methods Central.]_ He said as he zoomed in on the train station again. _[I have a plan to get in there. Advent may have wizened up to our tactics, but as the old saying goes, 'the more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain'.]_ He said with a chuckle. _[They've secured this place so well that not even an ant can slip through without being spotted. But of course they leave the back door to their facility just hanging wide open. The train is unmanned, and is programmed to leave the station for the facility at a specific time and to arrive at a specific time. We can take the train there and slip past all of the defenses with Advent being none the wiser.]_

"So we hit the train, hitch a ride, and stow away aboard it." Central said. "Simple enough plan."

 _[No, we can't hit it, if Advent's forces are attacked while the train is still docked, they'll alert the facility. Once the facility is alerted it will lock down, and the train will not depart.]_ He said instantly. _[If we're going to board that train, we need to do it quietly, without raising the alarm, but once we board the train it will be an easy ride to the facility. The trick though, is getting out once we're inside, until those turrets are down the Skyranger can't rescue us. Once we're inside the facility, we can shut down the turrets while setting the X-4 Charge so the Skyranger can swoop in and pick us up.]_

"And that's why you need that Advent Trooper armor." Shen said. "So we can disguise our forces, by why only two complete sets for the Land Sharks, Commander?"

 _[Because if we have too many 'disguises' we might raise the alarm.]_ He said. _[As for why two, we need a convincing 'disguise' in order for Advent to buy the picture of two extra Troopers just walking into the area.]_

There was silence before they looked at him. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Central asked.

He nodded as he began floating again, still plugged in to charge his battery. _[Yes I am Central, its time 'Mercy' helped us out.]_ He said. _[If she's on board with us, she needs to help us slip through their defensive net. If we had three Troopers suddenly walking close by the train when it was preparing to leave, they might get suspicious. But if we have a Viper alongside our two 'Troopers', they won't suspect anything at a distance. Nearly every patrol I saw included at least one alien, whether it was a Viper, a Sectoid, or even an Andromedon. The best way we can slip in is with an alien of our own to avoid any suspicions.]_

"But how do you know she won't alert them, or even turn against us?" Shen asked quietly. "Commander, letting her work alongside Engineering on board is one thing, but bringing her on a critical mission and just expecting her to 'cooperate' is something else entirely. How are you so sure she'll stick to the plan and not turn on us?"

 _[Because doing so won't save her life Shen.]_ He said calmly. _[She's revealed a fair portion of Advent's secrets, true it wasn't anything we couldn't have figured out ourselves or didn't already know, but that still means she betrayed Advent. Plus she failed to kill us or stop us twice, and even surrendered to us without a fight. As far as Advent's concerned, that means she's a dead Viper the moment she goes back to them. Nothing she does or can do will save her life, not even turning on us. She obviously values her own life, I'd say it's worth the risk bringing her on board this mission.]_

He sighed and looked at the hologram again. _[In any case, the train won't leave for another five hours, and I don't want to wake the Sharks while they're all resting so we could hit it sooner. So we'll do this in eleven hours when it's an hour before the train is scheduled to leave again. Have Tygan prepare the suits and send them to the armory for when it's time.]_

"Speaking of resting sir, are you sure it was wise to let our Viper friend stay in your quarters?" Central asked.

He turned to look at his right hand man. It was true, he had let Mercy stay in his quarters until he could find an appropriate place for her to sleep where she wouldn't be threatened by any of the crew who still harbored dark thoughts about her. It's taken everything he had to talk to the crew and get them to at least calm down with her, but even so there were still a few crew members who resented her. So the only way to keep her safe was to station her in his quarters, where he knew nobody would hurt her.

Of course, Central didn't like the idea, more for security reasons than for personal space. But he and Shen took care of those concerns by triple encrypting any information she could gain, and locking up everything else that wasn't necessary for her to touch. Shen even placed security cameras to watch the room while he was out of it.

Though he gave her some 'privacy' in terms of using the personal bathroom his quarters had, and made sure Shen put no cameras in the bathroom.

 _[Central, even though she 'is' an alien, she's still a living, breathing, creature, with thoughts and feelings of her own.]_ He said with a sigh. _[The least we can do for her, is give her some semblance of hospitality, even if we watch her every move on board. Besides, it's not like I need that bed given my current condition. I haven't needed any sleep for under half a month. In the meantime, you two get some rest, that's an order. We've got a big mission ahead of us, and we're going to need clear and rested heads for it.]_

"Alright sir." Central said.

With that, he watched as Central and Shen left the command center, and sighed as he wished he could be just like them again. _[I miss my bed…]_ He complained bitterly as he glanced down at the charging cable still plugged to him.

It was going to be a long hour of waiting while his Gremlin's battery recharged.

(Mercy's PoV, several hours later)

It was very warm in the large bed in the room, but despite how comfortable she was, and how warm it was compared to her cell she had been used to, she felt afraid.

But at the same time she was so comfortable lying there, having had a good night's sleep, the first in a while since over a week ago, that she didn't care that she was lying in the bed of the resistance forces' Commander. She could have laid there for the rest of eternity with how warm and soft the bed was.

 _ ***Why did he let me sleep in here?***_ She thought as she laid in the bed, keeping her eyes closed as she remained in the bed.

{Flash Back, ten hours ago}

" _ **You are… letting me sleep in here?"**_ She asked incredulously as she looked around the huge room.

The room was very spacious, and had a small circle of cushioned chairs in the center, with an ornately decorated desk and chair next to dual screens. Alongside one other wall was a massive screen which featured the XCOM Logo and motto, Vigilo Confido. Next to quite a respectable library of books on a shelf, was a very comfortable bed with a lavished blanket and pillow. There was even what looked like a private bathroom, and in a tall glass case were several figurines and objects of interest.

The Commander, still speaking through his little machine, floated in front of her and nodded. _[Temporarily Mercy, you see I'm very busy, and often I spend most of my time in the command center. At the moment, I have nowhere else to put you, unless you want to bunk with some of the crew, which at the moment I advise against. You can sleep in here when you need to, but this is still 'my' room, so when I need to sleep, you'll be asked to leave. Also, while you're in here, you'll be under constant surveillance, every move you make will be monitored, with exception to the bathroom, which I have left cleared for your 'privacy'.]_

She sighed and nodded, knowing that there was a price.

 _[But think of it this way, you can read whatever you want in my room, provided they aren't on the computer, and you have 'some' access to the computer. Although I've encrypted nearly every file of value so you can't spy on us.]_ He said as his Gremlin floated over to the library, using a claw to pick up a book. _[It's quite a collection, a selected number of books that Advent has banned. Some of the last surviving members of their genre and tittles are found here. Like the adventures of Gilgamesh, Sherlock Holmes, Shakespeare's collected works, The Wizard of Oz, Flight of Dragons, you can't find most of these nowadays.]_

She slithered over to the bookshelf and looked at the collection, and it was as he said. There were dozens upon dozens of books that Advent had subtly destroyed over the years. Yet here on board this ship, there were books that had been spared. She even saw two books that she had thought were completely destroyed.

" _ **Common Sense and The Last of the Mohicans?"**_ She asked as she picked up the antiquated books that had been carefully preserved.

 _[Yep, I'm quite proud to own them.]_ He said with a chuckle. _[That copy of 'The Last of the Mohicans' is a signed first edition, extremely rare, as for Common Sense, nearly every first edition is lost but Central and I have managed to save this one. Advent has destroyed nearly all of the other copies, but I managed to preserve these two here aboard the Avenger. They used to be in the old XCOM base, but after we clearly 'lost' back in those days, they were eventually moved here. I think Hawkeye has a rare book as well, but I've never asked about it.]_

She ignored most of what he said as she read the 'Common Sense' by Thomas Paine, admiring the wonderfully and delicately written language that was printed on its pages. It was unlike the text and language that the Elders and Advent used, and it was far more ornate than that used by humans nowadays. In fact it looked beautiful, as if the language and words were written more for an aesthetic reason rather than for a literary one.

 _[Well in any case, my Gremlin is off to the command center, I need it to transfer data. I'll leave you to this room, enjoy your time here.]_

Yet again, she ignored him, only nodding as she read Common Sense, reading the lines of words written from an ancient human from a simpler time in their history. _**"We break not… from the tenderness of the mother… but from the cruelty… of the monster…"**_ She read out loud. _**"It's not about rich men fighting other rich men for more… it's about 'us'… that we don't need a 'king', we can rule ourselves with laws of our own making. Tis not against anyone, tis a struggle for a new way of 'being'..."**_

{Flash Back ends}

She had read that book, a book of an era of human time in which a nation struggled to define its course in history. It seemed in this day that it was an outdated way of thinking, but those radical words from a very radical mind, in a radical time, made her think.

When she thought about it, it made her think of the Elders. She had only ever known a life of servitude to them, and in her service to the Elders, she had been forced to fight for a cause she honestly knew very little, other than what was told to her.

It was obvious the Elders wanted the humans for something, but they also had little care for her and the rest of those in the Advent alliance obviously. One just had to look at their weapons to see it, she rarely used her plasma rifle, but it and nearly every other plasma rifle Advent distributed to its soldiers were not perfectly safe to use. Some often malfunctioned or outright exploded given enough provocation.

But during her time while moving boxes and working in engineering, she had seen the meticulous care and planning with the resistance and it's soldier's weapons. They made sure none of them would malfunction, or 'accidentally' explode on them. She even had seen how much effort they put into their own weapons of their design, the Gremlins were designed to act as both warriors and field medics, capable of shielding and healing at a moment's notice, something Advent had very little interest in doing for its own Troopers.

" **Advent cares nothing for me… or my sisters… we are expendable to them…"** She hissed in her own language as she continued to sleep. _**"But every soldier for the resistance is vital… they risk the lives of many to save the life of one… Advent didn't and hasn't bothered trying to rescue me."**_

 _[Well when your enemy has the population of an entire planet, with all of its resources, and you have to scrounge for every piece of equipment and salvage whatever supplies you can while stealing everything else, every life is vital.]_ A digital voice declared.

She snapped her eyes open and leaned up to see the Commander's Gremlin floating several inches in front of her, its metal claw extended toward her.

" **Oh… I … I didn't know…"** She hissed nervously.

 _[It's alright, my Gremlin is rather silent when it moves around, but I did need to send it in here for a few things. One of them being replacing that book you're sleeping with, it is a rather 'delicate' book.]_

She looked down and saw that it was staring at 'Common Sense', the book she was reading. With a nod she picked it up and handed it back to the Gremlin, which took it in the metal claw and carefully replaced it on the shelf. _[The second thing I needed to send it in here for were some files, which I retrieved while you were asleep. The third thing I needed to do was inform you, that you will be joining the Sharks on an important mission in two hours.]_

 _ ***Mission… what mission?***_ She thought.

 _[In two hours, a train to an Advent facility will be leaving, we need to board it, but in order to board it safely we need 'you' to help us.]_ He said. _[I know you aren't violent normally, but we need you to help us. So I'll ask you one final time, because your answer will determine if I put you on the mission or not, and its success rate will be determined because of your answer. Are you with us… are you really on 'our' side, against Advent?]_

" **Why do you ask… what I have already told you?"** She asked quietly.

 _[Because, there's a difference between working on Gremlins in engineering and moving boxes with our forces, and actually fighting alongside them in the field.]_ He answered. _[You and anyone on board may be called upon to fight against Advent's forces, even myself if it comes to that, and I need to be sure you're on our side and won't turn against us at a moment's notice. It's easy for me to say I trust you, after all, I'm not the one whose life will be at risk when you leave the Avenger. And its also easier for me to say I trust you, when we can keep an eye on your activities here on board the ship every minute of the day. But it's the lives of the men and women who'll be jumping out of the Skyranger alongside you that will be at risk if I make the wrong call, and as I said, lives are a precious resource that we in XCOM cannot afford to waste.]_

There was silence as she stared at the little machine, not knowing what the face of her former leaders adversary looked like, but knowing that somewhere on board, was a human that seemed to have a great care for his soldier's lives. Far more than her former masters were, only the Hierarch Mother showed her any concern, but even then, it wasn't as much as he was showing.

" **You really care for your soldiers?"** She asked him, though it was more of a statement than a question.

 _[Let's just say, I've had to watch a lot of my soldiers die, first hand.]_ He replied. _[I've ordered them to their deaths, sometimes because I made a mistake, or because I was misinformed. Either way I caused enough deaths in my life to know how valuable a life is. That's why I'll do whatever I must to make sure as many people who go out under my command, survive under 'my' command. So that's why I ask again Mercy, are you with 'us' all the way?]_

She sighed and looked again at the Gremlin, before she smiled warmly, and nodded proudly, finally deciding to cast her lot with those that had spared her life and gave her a chance, when her former masters would not have forgiven her for even the slightest of failures. **"Yes Commander, I will join you're, 'our'… cause."** She hissed proudly. **"I am at your command… Sir."**

 _[Good to know, but for now, we have work to do. You're expected downstairs in the armory for weapon and armor refit, Hawkeye will escort you, and afterwards you and the rest of the Land Sharks will head to the landing pad for the Skyranger to be debriefed. We have less than two hours, Dismissed Mercy.]_

She nodded and left the room, and outside she found Hawkeye waiting, leaning against the wall and reading a book. "Finally woke up huh?" He asked her with a chuckle. "Do all Vipers sleep in late?"

" **What do you mean by, 'sleep late'?"** She asked as he stopped reading and beckoned her to follow him.

"Breakfast was hours ago, and you just woke up." He said. "Commander didn't want to disturb you until you woke up, but he had no choice because we're only a few hours away from mission time. So do you Vipers always 'sleep in' late?"

" **No… our bodies need to remain constantly warm naturally…"** She said quietly, slightly embarrassed at revealing that unlike most of her sisters, she was still not fully 'altered'.

Unlike her more common sisters, she still needed to regulate her body temperature by constantly warming herself up. Many of her kind though, had been altered by the Elders' genetics labs to make it so that their bodies could regulate body temperature more effectively, but for some reason, the Hierarch Mother never ordered her for any genetic tampering to her.

"Huh, so you're kind of like Vivi." He said. "She needs to 'lightbathe' every morning before she gets going."

" **Vivi?"** She asked curiously.

Little did she know that as they walked down the staircase toward the armory, one of the many cameras that was monitoring the different areas of the ship, turned and followed them, watching as they walked downstairs.

(The Commander's PoV)

He chuckled inside as he watched the pair walking down the staircase on the view screen.

 _[Of all the books she could have read… Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Hamlet, any of Shakespeare's plays, of all the books I have on my shelf there… she chooses Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense'.]_ He said. _[She read's Common Sense… because it makes sense.]_

He chuckled again and glanced down at his newest 'addition' to his Gremlin Body from Shen. It was essentially just a metal box, but inside of it was an old firearm of his that he's kept since the old days. Thanks to his new upgrades, as well as a newly added battery pack, he was allowed to carry additional weight like the box and its contents.

 _[Its common sense to fight for what one thinks is right.]_ He commented. _[Common sense, something I wish everyone had more of. That way I wouldn't need to fight for a bunch of sheep.]_

(Hawkeye's PoV, one hour later)

As he and every other member of the Land Sharks squad boarded the Skyranger and it began to depart, all their eyes turned to the latest addition to the mission, Mercy the Viper, and both him and Sharptooth.

"I can barely see anything in this helmet." Sharptooth complained as she adjusted her Advent Trooper helmet. "How do they have such good accuracy with this piece of crap?"

"Don't know either." He said. "I just wish we didn't have to wear it."

 _[Cut the chatter Land Sharks.]_ The Commander said, getting all of their attention. _[Alright, listen up, our mission is of vital importance today team. We're only going to get one shot at this… Central.]_

{Thanks Commander, as he said we're hitting one of Advent's newest Avatar Facilities.} The view screen of Central said as an image of a large building was shown. {Advent's got this place locked down tighter than any other place we've ever hit. With all the AA turrets between us and the facility, the Skyranger can't drop you off to the facility to blow it up.}

The Commander's Gremlin floated in front of Central to talk now. _[That means we'll be doing this the hard way, in order to reach the facility quietly, without alerting them that we're coming, we'll be boarding a train that's due to leave in under an hour.]_ The screen changed from the building to show an Advent Train, docked in a station. _[The train itself will most likely be guarded, but we're also hoping that they'll be so busy with loading supplies onto it, that they won't notice our two 'Troopers' and Viper friend. Once we can sneak onto the train, we'll wait until it departs, and then it's a short half hour ride to the facility itself. This will be a no fire mission until I say otherwise, we can't afford any screw ups team!]_

{As the Commander said, but once you guys are in, the Skyranger won't be able to get you out until you shut off those turrets and plant the X4 charge. So that's your top priority, locate the power to the turrets and shut it off, and plant the X4 charge so we can pick you up and go home. Are there any questions?}

"Yea I got one, how come I'm still stuck with this Warden Armor and basic weaponry?" Puppy asked angrily. "A paint job on my gear is one thing, but when am I going to get something else to work with?"

Everyone sighed in frustration, everyone except Mercy, who merely looked in confusion at everyone's expressions. {Alright, I'll be monitoring from here, but once you board the train all communications will be cut to prevent them from being alerted. Good luck sharks.}

With that everyone began checking their gear and making sure they were set for the big jump. Other than him and Sharptooth, they were all in their normal gear for missions, with the exception of receiving special paint jobs to help them blend in with the snowy terrain. However he and Sharptooth were wearing the same Advent Trooper gear to help them sneak into the facility without being detected.

He already hated the armor and couldn't wait to get out of it.

 _[Alright Sharks, get ready for the jump!]_ The Commander said.

"Wait, we're there already?" Puppy asked. "But there's still a good hour left of travel time!"

 _[Which we'll need because we're walking Puppy.]_ The Commander said. _[Suit up, don't let the cold get to ya!]_

Seconds later the green light went off and the back door opened, with several ropes hanging down to let them slide. But the first thing they felt was the shocking cold from the winter blizzard outside.

"Man, mother nature woke up on the wrong side of the bed today!" T-Rex shouted as they all ran forward, grabbed ropes and began sliding down.

As they slid down he grabbed his Plasma Rifle and took aim, as per standard issue when going on a mission, while everyone else landed and took up position.

It took them a while though because Mercy, having never once performed this routine, had difficulty getting going. In fact when she tried to slide down the rope, she missed it entirely and almost fell out of the Skyranger. Fortunately she grabbed a rope and slowly slid down to the rest of them, just as the Skyranger began making its way back to base.

Just as she landed they looked around and took in the scenery. "How come we're in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a snowstorm, that's in the middle of nowhere?!" Puppy asked over the coms.

 _[This is as close as the Skyranger can safely drop us off Puppy, now cut the chatter and let's get moving!]_ The Commander said over their coms. _[We've got a train to catch!]_

"Man, I hope it's warm on the train!" Puppy complained as they began marching, Eagleeye's Gremlin floating alongside him as they walked in formation, with Mercy, him and Sharptooth in the lead.

"Oh stop your complaining little missy, it could be worse!" T-Rex chuckled.

"Yea, how's that?" She grunted as they slowly but steadily made their way through the snow.

"You could be bald and have a big nose!" T-Rex shouted, causing everyone, including Falcon to chuckle.

Only Mercy didn't join in because she was busy holding herself tightly to try and stave off the cold. He glanced over at Sharptooth and nodded at Mercy, and she nodded in understanding as she pulled out several hot packs for them.

(Mercy's PoV)

It was freezing out of the Skyranger, and all she had on was her basic Advent Armor, and her old Plasma rifle, modified by the resistance forces so it was 'safer'. _***Why so cold… why this planet have so many cold places?***_ She thought bitterly as she reconsidered her thought of throwing her lot in with XCOM and the resistance. _***How do these humans deal with such a cold place… and why do they willingly go into these conditions.***_

Moments later she felt someone tap her shoulder and saw 'Sharptooth' in her Advent Trooper armor behind her, carrying some sort of red packs in her hand. "Hey there Mercy, Hawkeye said you'd be a little cold. So I brought along a few extra Hot Packs for you."

" **Hot…p…p… packs?"** She hissed.

Behind her she watched as nearly every one of the Land Sharks began placing similar 'hot packs' through various sections of their armor, namely the shoulders, legs, and armpit areas. The only ones not affected by the cold were the two Gremlins, the Commander's and Eagleeye's, which had been replaced by a newly constructed MK III, one of the ones she herself had constructed.

"Hot Packs, we use em when we're going into cold climate areas like the Arctic, makes the job a whole lot easier." She said as she handed four to her. "Just squeeze until they turn orange and place em where you want the warmth. Simple as that."

She nodded and took one look at the little packs, wondering how such a tiny thing would 'warm her up'. But she decided anything was better than nothing. So she squeezed it tightly as Sharptooth instructed, and almost instantly the little red packs began changing orange, and she felt the warmth seep out and to her scaled hands.

That surprised her more than anything, because she was not expecting it to give her so much heat. Instantly she slipped it under her armor and felt the warmth spread through that portion of her body. Moments later she repeated the process and felt the hot packs warming the parts of her body that she cold, making the cold more tolerable than before. Only her tail was left to endure the harsh cold.

" **Thank you…"** She said to Sharptooth.

"Anytime 'sister', girls gata stick together on a mostly guy team!" She joked as they continued on through the snow.

"Are you poking fun at us Kelly?" Eagleeye asked.

"Always knew she was a lady's girl!" T-Rex chuckled.

"Are you implying something ya big oaf?" She asked back.

They all continued traveling through the snow, Puppy complaining bitterly every step of the way, before they had their first wakeup call that they were on a mission.

 _[Everyone but Mercy, Sharptooth and Hawkeye down!]_ The Commander ordered suddenly.

Instantly everyone, including the Gremlins, flung themselves to the ground, concealing themselves in the snow using their camouflage. She and the other two still standing turned to look off to the side, near the forest. There she saw a patrol of Advent forces, two Troopers and one Viper, just like the Commander had said. They continued their patrol, only pausing to glance at them for a moment, before resuming their routine patrols.

 _ ***It fooled them…***_ Mercy thought as they waited for them to leave.

"Well, at least we know the armor trick works." Hawkeye commented.

"It better, if I have to wear this piece of crap it better at least fool them, I'd rather run around naked in the middle of a fight then wear this." Sharptooth said.

"I'll get my camera ready!" T-Rex chuckled.

"Give you my desert for a picture!" Eagleeye said back.

Once the patrol had passed the Commander gave them the all clear and they resumed their march, albeit with less complaining and more focused attention on their surroundings.

After another fifteen minutes of trudging through the snow, with an additional ten minutes spent concealing themselves from the constant patrols, and they finally caught sight of the train station.

Mercy was bewildered at the huge train station, it was more of a depot then a 'station', with an entire platform devoted to allowing the placement of supplies for the nearly sixty mile long train that was docked at the platform. The train itself consisted of over forty interlocking cars, and all of which were currently being tended to by the various mechanical units of Advent's forces.

She could see hundreds, if not thousands, of mechanical robots loading the train with various cargo. Something that Puppy commented on as they all took cover once again in the snow.

"Looks like a modified Advent MEC unit, designed more for the loading and offloading of cargo." Puppy exclaimed. "I can't see anything 'living' down there Commander, looks like it's only MEC units down there."

 _[You got that right Puppy, these guys have been loading this train for over an hour, and by the looks of it they're nearly done.]_ The Commander said to them over their coms. _[Alright, first thing's first, these units are only going to be loading cargo, meaning they aren't going to raise the alarm until they see something out of the ordinary. So Decoy team will move closer to the train and scope out a car that we can hitch a ride on. The rest of us will wait here until then, and remember you three, keep it casual, you're just another Advent Patrol making its rounds.]_

"So we get to sit in the snow and freeze while they get to walk around, lovely." Puppy complained yet again as Sharptooth, Hawkeye, and Mercy began moving closer to the train.

"Least you don't have to wear this chicken suit armor!" Sharptooth said back over the coms. "Thing makes me itch and want to take a long shower."

As they approached the train, trying to remain as 'casual' as they could while approaching the train station, Mercy began to wonder how this plan could work. There was no way these Advent MEC's would be fooled by such a 'simple' disguise as wearing Advent Trooper armor.

 _ ***This is not going to work…***_ She thought fearfully as they drew closer. _***They're going to figure it out, we'll be surrounded… shot through…***_

Yet once they were close to the train, close enough for the MEC's to notice them, all one of them did was turn to them, lock its sensors on them for the briefest of moments, and turned back to its designated duty. With little more encouragement, she and the other two moved closer, continuing to parade as though they were a patrol, and Mercy feeling the fear replace with amusement.

 _ ***I take it back…***_ She thought, wondering how in the universe she thought these resistance forces were fools for challenging Advent.

If they could slip this close to a secured facility wearing 'disguises' and not raise suspicions, then there was obviously something wrong with how Advent operated against their mortal foe.

When they reached the train they began walking along it, pretending to be on patrol while checking for any opening for the rest of their forces to board the train. About halfway down the train, where the MEC units were finished loading the cargo, they found one devoid of activity and with the door conveniently open for them on the right side.

"Commander, we've got an opening for you, grid 34-G by 62-L." Hawkeye whispered as they all stopped and began 'scanning' the area.

 _[Acknowledge Menace 1-4, raiding party moving out, continue watching the MEC's and warn us if they're watching in our direction.]_ The Commander said over the coms.

Mercy watched in the distance as four humans and two Gremlin specks appeared. For several minutes they simply stood around and calmly observed their surroundings, before one of the MEC units turned toward the raiding group.

"Get down!" She heard Sharptooth say over the coms, and instantly they all vanished as they took cover back into the snow.

Moments later the MEC droid turned back to its duty and resumed moving boxes, which was the signal for them to resume.

It was another ten minutes of this, with the 'decoy' team watching for the all clear, while the rest of the sharks slowly made their way to the train. Eventually though they were close enough that the Commander gave them the go to rush for the train, and within seconds they all swarmed into the train car, with Mercy and Hawkeye closing it shut behind them.

"Glad that we're out of the snowstorm now." Puppy said with a sigh of relief.

 _[Wrecking crew to Avenger, we're in.]_ The Commander said over the coms while everyone began settling in.

{Understood wrecking crew, we're commencing radio silence until further notice. Once you're clear of the sensory net, Shen will attempt to establish radio contact without triggering the network. Good luck wrecking crew.}

With that they all sat and began shutting down all of their internal coms and the Gremlins, with exception to the Commander's Gremlin.

When Mercy asked why he had chosen to keep the Gremlin active when, by his own orders, all of them were to shut off any radio signals and electronic devices including the Gremlins, he had simply said, _[As long as I maintain minimal power and don't transmit signals they won't detect me.]_

Several minutes later the train began to rumble and move forward, and she and the members of the Land Sharks squad began preparing themselves for what would be a difficult fight ahead of them. She could see the worry in some of their eyes, and even in Puppy, the youngest member of their squad, she saw the fear she was feeling. At first she tried to think nothing of it, but as their fear began to get to her, she too began worrying.

She had thrown her lot in with the resistance forces of XCOM, meaning that no matter what happens now, she was dead to Advent either way. Now that she had joined them, she had a vested interest in keeping them safe and alive. But as they sat there, waiting for when the train would stop, she had a fear about what would happen soon to them all.

It was one thing to be going into battle, it was another thing knowing a battle was approaching, and not knowing if you would make it.


	8. Chapter 8

(Incoming Transmission. . . Establishing Connection. . .)

(… psst… No word from Venus… she has yet to make contact I suspect…)

(… If the worst should happen, I fear for the information she has about us…)

(… I will continue to look as best I can… Vigilo Confido, friend…)

(Connection Terminated…)

=Chapter 8, The Hierarch Mother=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

 _[On my signal, open the door and everyone make for the tree line.]_ The Commander said as the train began to slow down. _[Don't stop for any reason, and don't look around at anything else until we're in the clear.]_

"Roger." He said.

"Understood." Sharptooth whispered.

"Got it." Puppy whispered as well.

"Alright." T-Rex replied.

"Yes Sir." Falcon said.

"You got it." Eagleeye called quietly.

" **Very well…"** Mercy hissed nervously.

As everyone tensed up while the train began to slowly grind to a halt, they watched the Commander approach the door with Eagleeye and T-Rex, both of them weapons ready and preparing to fling it open.

Then seconds later they felt the train lurch at last, and that was the cue that the train had stopped at last. _[NOW!]_ He yelled over their coms.

Instantly T-Rex and Eagleeye flung the door to the train open and all of them poured out and into the blizzard once more, but at this time it had lessened up significantly. As they ran he obeyed the Commander's orders and focused solely on the tree line at least fifty yards ahead of them, while he heard T-Rex and Eagleeye shut the door behind them so that Advent wouldn't realize they had stowed away.

Behind him he heard Puppy panting while Mercy slithered up next to him, easily able to keep up with her tail motions. Sharptooth was right behind him, panting and grunting as she tried to keep her speed up with the Advent Trooper armor weighing her down and restricting her movement.

Despite how easily Advent's forces moved around in it, it was obviously not meant for them to be worn by resistance forces. The helmet that he saw through had a tinted lens for him to see through, obviously it was a design for the Advent Trooper to take advantage of, but for him it just made everything seem a shade or two darker.

 _[We're almost there, keep going!]_ The Commander said over their coms, just as he flew over them all and raced for the trees.

Five minutes later they all pushed themselves harder for the last sprint to the trees, and as they reached the cover of the tree line they finally stopped to breathe. He was panting heavily alongside Sharptooth, the armor was extremely restricting on his movements, not to mention heavier than the normal armor they were used to. Beside him Mercy panted as well, but she wasn't hissing as heavily with her breaths.

Puppy, Eagleye, T-Rex and Falcon were also panting, but because they were wearing their usual armor it wasn't as bad as he and Sharptooth's gasps.

 _[We're here Sharks… the Avalon Facility.]_ The Commander said, looking past them all in the direction they had just come from.

He looked around and nearly lost his breath again, and alongside him every other member of the Land Sharks squad had gasped for breath. Mercy herself had dropped her plasma rifle altogether, she was just as speechless at what she was seeing.

The facility looked like nothing they had ever seen on Earth. It was at least two hundred stories tall from where he was looking, and the edges of the building were at least nine miles apart from one another. A series of Anti Air defensive turrets ringed the outer wall every six feet, and large heavy equipment could be seen throughout the facility's site.

The sheer size dominated the landscapes, they looked like tiny specks compared to the massive building, and it was easily ten times larger than any Black Site or Avatar Facility they had yet encountered. He figured that the first Black Site XCOM had hit could have easily fit quite cozily inside this building's wall, and still have had plenty of space for other Black Site facilities.

"You call that a facility?" Eagleeye asked. "That place looks like it was built to house a giant!"

"And I thought back home we had big places, this big guy takes the cake and then some!" T-Rex said as he held his grenade launcher at the ready.

"How in the name of Jesus are we going to blow that up Commander?" Puppy asked nervously.

 _[I'm thinking Sharks.]_ He said quietly, but they all heard the uncertainty in his tone.

" **I never imagined Advent could build such a place… but what is its purpose?"** Mercy asked them.

 _[This place is a factory and research facility in one package, once it goes operational, it will be able to 'process' thousands of humans a day, and help them develop the Avatar Project at a speed unprecedented. What would have taken them years, will take them months with this place!]_ The Commander growled.

" **Process… but how do they… process…?"** Mercy began saying, but one look from him told her to stop.

 _[They kill humans… just leave it at that.]_ He answered for her though, but the anger in his voice was clearly evident now.

{Avenger to Commander, come in Commander…} They all heard Central's voice call in a few moments later over the coms.

 _[This is Wrecking Crew to Avenger, we hear you loud and clear.]_ The Commander said, not taking his eyes off the facility. _[You found a way to get to us without them picking you up?]_

{Shen says this is a line of sight transmission, but it punches through the snowstorm's interference, and it's undetectable by the Advent Network.} He said. {Have you located Avalon?}

 _[More than located it Central, we're looking at it right now, transmitting you an image now.]_

There was silence as the Commander transmitted the signal back to Central, before they all heard him whistling in wonder. {That is one big building.}

{You're telling me Central, Commander, this is Shen, we have a problem now.} Shen said over the coms now. {I can only make an educated guess from what I'm seeing, but judging by the size and composition of the facility, we don't have enough X-4 to blow that facility up like the others.}

 _[What are you telling me Shen, that we can't blow this place up?]_ The Commander suddenly snapped.

{That's precisely what I'm saying, the charge isn't powerful enough to destroy the whole thing, a portion maybe, but not everything.} Shen said. {Without an exact schematic of this place, I can't tell how effective the X-4 charge will be.}

 _[So then we find a schematic for you, leave that to the infiltration crew.]_ He replied back. _[But when we get you the schematic, I want you to find a way to blow up this facility. I don't care how we do it, but we 'must' destroy this place now, while we have the chance. Any longer and we risk losing our advantage, understood?]_

{Crystal sir, just find a terminal we can uplink with and I'll hack in to find a way.}

 _[Good, alright then, infiltration unit, time to move in.]_ The Commander said, turning to him, Mercy and Sharptooth. _[I've linked my Gremlin to your helmets, once you're inside, I'll be able to see what you see. Start moving out you three.]_

"Understood Commander!" Hawkeye said as he and Sharptooth began walking off toward the massive building.

(Mercy's PoV)

" **As you wish."** Mercy said as well, before she slithered off behind the two disguised Shark members.

As they made their way toward the facility, the first thing she spotted were the hundreds of MEC units offloading the train of supplies. But she also saw several patrols of troopers and other 'aliens' by human terms. Most of them though were of her species, Viper, which thoroughly surprised her. She saw the occasional Sectoid, Muton, and an Andromadon as well, but there were far more Vipers than she had ever seen since her surveillance days.

" **How are we to sneak past them?"** She asked as they approached, trying to move as if they were supposed to be there.

"Just follow the Commander's orders, that's how." Hawkeye whispered over their coms, her earpiece hidden by her special head armor.

"I hope he's got a plan to sneak us in, the sooner I can get out of this chicken suit the better." Sharptooth answered.

After five minutes of slow marching toward the facility and its guards the Commander spoke to them over their coms. _[Mercy, because you're not wearing a helmet similar to Sharptooth and Hawkeye, follow them so as to keep to the path that I have laid out for them to take. Otherwise we risk being discovered by Advent's forces before we're ready.]_ She heard him say to her. _[Just keep a straight expression, maintain your movement speed with theirs, and above all, try to avoid eye contact.]_

She nodded and followed Sharptooth and Hawkeye as they turned and walked alongside the train, ignoring the various MEC units as they ignored 'them'. As they neared the patrols and other guards she tried to keep her expression set, but the sight of so many of her former allies, now enemies, was offsetting to her.

When they reached the first patrol she heard the Commander say over her com, _[Remain calm, so long as they have nothing to suspect of who you are, they will not do anything.]_

 _ ***I hope he's right…***_ She thought as they passed by the first patrol, and a Viper among them followed her and the two sharks movements. _***If any of them recognize me, I'll be shot in an instant!***_

But just as the Commander said, her former sister made no movements against her or the disguised sharks.

She let out a sigh of relief as they continued on through the patrols, following another patrol that just so happen to be heading to a check point leading to the facility itself. They followed the patrol, pretending to move in step with them as if they belonged with them, but with each step they took she feared they would never make it out again.

As they passed by the first check point, Hawkeye tilted his helmet ever so slightly. _[Follow Hawkeye, they're entering the facility.]_ The Commander said over their coms again.

Moments later they passed through the check point without any incident, and Hawkeye and Sharptooth turned right toward what looked like a side door. She eyed the turrets again as they continued to look outward beyond the wall, waiting for anything to shoot at. However just as she began thinking about how much damage they could do to her in her basic armor, she heard the sound of a plasma door opening, and she turned to see that the side door had opened up for them.

Moments later they walked through it and she went wide eyed yet again at what Advent had created.

Tubes, rows upon rows of tubes, all filled with some kind of greenish liquid. They all seemed vacant, but it was obvious that they were meant to be 'filled' or occupied by 'something'. She could see the rows of tubes, tanks or whatever they were, stretched on for what seemed like forever.

Seeing the empty tanks filled her with a sense of dread, as if something horrible was happening.

"My god…" Hawkeye whispered over the coms as he looked around. "There's so many of them…"

"They go on… forever…" Sharptooth whispered just as quietly. "There's no end to them… there's enough here for thousands… no tens of thousands!"

" **Thousands, what do you mean thousands?"** Mercy asked curiously. **"Thousands of what?"**

 _[Thousands of people Mercy, how do you think Advent is making progress on the 'Avatar Project'?]_ The Commander said over the coms. _[Keep moving, the longer you stand there gaping the more suspicious they'll get.]_

She nodded and followed behind Sharptooth and Hawkeye, but as she walked past the seemingly endless lines of empty, green liquid filled tanks, she thought about the Commander's words when he said _'Thousands of people'_.

" **Please tell me, Commander, by 'people' and 'process', what is Advent doing here?"** She asked him quietly over the coms. **"Please explain, I do not understand."**

 _[Those tanks you're passing by, they're filled with a special acid that breaks down the human body, and refines it down to its basic genetic structure, converting it into a special liquid.]_ He said angrily. _[In other words, thousands upon thousands of people, innocent, unknowing, and unaware people, are being converted into a canister of liquid, no bigger than your firearm. And a canister that size could contain even 'more' people if they wanted to, which it does. People like Puppy and Hawkeye, innocent civilians who have done nothing wrong and were looking for help, tricked into going to the Advent Administration 'Genetic Clinics' for cures to deformities and impurities, reduced to a liquid in a canister, large enough to drink out of.]_

 _ ***You mean… 'that' is what the Elders wanted with the humans?***_ She thought in horror as she passed by the seventh row of tanks, looking at them with shock as she saw the room seem to stretch endlessly with them. _***No wonder they resist… their species is being slaughtered by the thousands… and they don't even realize it!***_

The horror of what they were doing hit her hard, and all she could think was why she ever considered the Elders a great and justified race that had the interests of 'lesser species' at heart. She now understood why they resisted Advent so hard, and why so many aboard the Avenger hated her so much. If it weren't for the Commander keeping her safe and protecting her so hard, as well as his soldier's respecting her as much as they did, she would not have been surprised to have been killed the moment she left her cell.

For the next fifteen minutes they crossed the seemingly endless rows of tubes, before they finally reached the end on the room, and upon reaching it they saw where all of the activity was.

"Wrecker 1-1 to Command… tell me you're seeing what I'm seeing." Hawkeye said quietly over his coms as they passed through another plasma door and walked along a walkway, suspended over a massive room filled with generators and MEC units.

{We see it clearly Wrecker 1-1, this place is bigger than I imagined, and it was pretty big to begin with in my mind.} Central said worriedly.

{This looks to be like some kind of… engineering room, all of these appear to be generators, and in the final stages of testing by the looks of it.} Shen commented. {Your right about one thing Commander, we arrived her just in time. If what I'm seeing indicates anything, this places looks ready to go online within a matter of days. We need to shut this place down and fast.}

As she walked on, she happened a chance at a group of Vipers that were standing around near the center of the room, and what she saw astonished her, causing her to stop moving altogether.

 _[Wrecker 1-7, Mercy come in, why have you stopped moving, what is going on?]_ The Commander's voice said urgently over the coms. _[Mercy, please respond, what are you looking at?]_

" **It's… it's her…"** She whispered hoarsely. **"The… the Hierarch Mother… my Hierarch Mother."**

(The Commander's PoV)

The Commander watched through the eyes of Hawkeye as he too looked down at the group of Vipers lingering about, as MEC units walked about carrying equipment and carrying out instructions.

The Hierarch Mother was a Viper, of similar color scheme to Mercy, with orange colored scales and wearing specialized armor and sporting a specially designed helmet befitting her title, and even armor for her tail and back. Her helmet covered her head and fanned out for her hood to fit comfortably in, and hanging from her two ends of her hooded head was a pair of large cylindrical objects about seven inches long. Hanging from a holster at her side was a Plasma Blaster, and she was surrounded by Vipers and giving out orders every few seconds, as well as investigating and inspecting the equipment around her.

{The Hierarch Mother's here, well that explains all of the security.} Central said over the coms.

{If she's here then this mission is going to be all the more difficult, they'll be on watch for even the slightest problem.} Shen said after him.

{But if we can blow up this facility with 'her' in it, we'll not only eliminate the largest facility Advent has ever built for the Avatar Facility, we'll also deal a crippling blow to Advent's leadership!} Central said excitedly. {Commander, we can't let this opportunity slip by us.}

He agreed, but was distracted as a group of Troopers began approaching his position on patrol.

 _[Take cover… remain concealed!]_ He ordered the remaining members of the Land Sharks.

Instantly they all took cover behind the trees, and he hid himself in a flurry of snow by diving into a pile of it.

There were certainly times he enjoyed being a Gremlin, he didn't feel the cold his soldiers were feeling. But at the same time as he kept his heat sensors watching the patrols, and hearing them sigh in relief as he gave them the all clear, he wished he were like them again.

 _[My body is still in a bloody coma… why'd that trooper have to take a shot at Hawkeye back in that facility… if he didn't, I could have been able to eat…]_ He complained bitterly.

However he never lost his attention or his focus on the group still in the facility, and while he was busy giving orders, talking to Central, and keeping his group concealed, he had been ordering Sharptooth and Hawkeye.

Even as he was speaking to Central, and hiding in the snow waiting for the group, he had been guiding them through the room where the Hierarch Mother had been found. Now he saw through Hawkeye's helmet that they were approaching a terminal on the catwalk where they could link up and get Shen the information she needed.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"Wrecker 1-1 to Avenger, we've located a terminal." Hawkeye whispered as he, Sharptooth, and Mercy approached the terminal. "Confirm that you can hack into it?"

{Confirmed, get closer and I can piggyback off of the signal to hack into their network.}

He nodded and as professionally and casually as he could, he stepped closer to the terminal, slid out his hacking device and planted it on the terminal as he passed by it. After he passed by Sharptooth and Mercy did as well, and they continued along the walkway as if nothing had happened.

{Alright, I'm in the network's database…} Shen said to them over the coms. {Give me a few moments to bring up the schematics so I can find a way to blow up this place.}

 _[Make it fast Shen, those cameras are starting to focus more on the team!]_ The Commander said as they passed by a series of cameras, and sure enough one of them followed Mercy the whole time she was near it.

As they walked the Commander ordered them to pause at an intersection and look around, continuing to play on the fact that they were meant to be a patrol guard. After two minutes of standing around he ordered them to turn around again and slow-march toward the terminal again.

{Alright I've found a way.} Shen declared. {That entire room is filled with heat liquid generators that are used to power the entire facility and everything around it, including the turrets. This liquid is extremely volatile to temperature changes and sudden heat sources, and as such must be kept in check and monitored by a delicate balance of interchanging coolants to keep it from overloading. If we plant the X-4 charge on the primary generator and detonate, it will trigger a chain reaction and ignite the liquid tanks in that room!}

 _[Nicely done, now where's the main generator?]_ The Commander asked.

{Unfortunately, it's right where the Hierarch Mother is right now.} Shen said disappointedly. {If we want to blow this place up properly, we need to plant the X-4 charge directly on the generator, which means finding a way to plant it directly there while she's around.}

{Shen, I highly doubt the Hierarch Mother is going to let us plant an explosive charge in front of her.} Central said.

{Well, you wanted a way to blow up this place, and that's the only method I can come up with!}

 _[Enough, we'll find a way. Infiltration unit, start making your way down there, head for that generator and when you get the signal, plant the charge and get out, we need to make this fast!]_ The Commander said. _[Shen, have you gained access to the turret controls, can you shut them down temporarily, long enough for the Skyranger to pick us up?]_

{Affirmative Commander, it shouldn't be too difficult, at most they'll be offline long enough for the Skyranger to get in and pick Wrecking Crew up. But once they go offline Commander, they'll know we're here, it won't take them long to figure out what's going on. We'll only have a window of about half an hour before the turrets go back online, and it will take the Skyranger ten minutes to reach Wrecking Crew's position.}

{That leaves us a window of ten minutes to plant the charge, get everyone together, and get out, a normal day for the Land Sharks.} The Commander commented. {Alright Infiltration Unit, you know what to do, make your way to the main generator, and get ready to plant the charge. Shen, shut down the turrets on my signal!}

"Understood Command." He whispered, and nodded at Sharptooth to follow the path the Commander just sent them to take.

As they headed down the catwalk and toward what looked like an elevator of some kind, Mercy asked them quietly over the coms, **"But what about the Hierarch Mother… the guards, how do we get past them?"**

"Just trust the Commander, he's got a plan." Sharptooth hissed back to her. "Now stop talking, or else they're going to catch on to us!"

They reached the elevator and waited only a moment before it lowered them to the lower floor, after that they followed the Commander's path and made their way toward the primary liquid conduit, which the Hierarch Mother herself was inspecting. As they drew nearer they could hear her talking in English.

" **I want thiss conduit to be at full power by tomorrow!"** She hissed at her various subordinates. **"The Elders require this facility to be operational as soon as possible. We have delayed the Avatar Project long enough because of these pathetic resistance forces and their 'XCOM'. Before they can stop what we are trying to create, we must complete the Grand Design of the Elder's vision! Once we are operational here, this facility will progress our Grand Design for the Avatar, and these 'insects' will fall into the Elder's plans without fail."**

"Sure talks big for a snake girl." Sharptooth whispered as quietly as she could.

"Commander, ETA to target is two minutes… where's that signal?" Hawkeye asked.

Just as they were about to reach the Hierarch Mother and her subordinates, the whole facility was shaken as warning sirens sounded throughout the room.

 **{Kistash Stimanesh, Kistash Stimanesh!}** An alien voice declared over an intercom.

" **The XCOM forces are here?"** The Hierarch Mother hissed angrily. **"How could they have gotten past the turret defenses?"**

 **{Kremonesh Sesteemosuh, Kremonesh Sesteemosuh Hoorasteius!}**

She looked around as various MEC units and Troopers began storming into the room near them from every direction. **"All Forces to the northern barrier!"** She yelled, taking the lead as everyone and everything began flooding north.

"That's the signal!" Hawkeye whispered as he and the other two pretended to fall in line, but ever so stealthily Sharptooth took out the X-4 Charge she had hidden under her armor's breast plate.

Seconds later she ran right up to the main conduit and began placing it, but just as she did an MEC unit began approaching from behind them.

" **You heard the Hierarch Mother!"** Mercy suddenly hissed, getting the MEC unit's attention as she slid up to it, blocking its optical view of Sharptooth as she quickly repositioned the X-4 charge so it was hidden from view better. **"To the northern barrier!"**

 **[Swishtoosh Coomosh]** It replied, before lumbering off while taking a plasma rifle from its mount.

Mercy turned back to them and nodded with a smile. **"It was the least I could do to help."** She hissed warmly at him.

"Thanks!" Sharptooth said as she knocked him in the shoulder. "Infiltration Unit to Wrecking Crew, charges set, we're making our way toward…"

She was about to continue when he saw a series of lines and waypoints from the commander on his helmet HUD, indicating where he was being ordered to go.

"Let's get going!" Sharptooth said quietly.

" **Are all of your operations like this?"** Mercy asked just as quietly as they rushed to follow the other Advent forces.

"As a matter of fact, yea, they always end up like this." He replied. "I just hope the Wrecking Crew outside can hold out."

(The Commander's PoV)

 _[T-Rex, open fire on the Troopers taking cover at grid H-32!]_ The Commander ordered as he floated high above. _[Falcon, use Insanity on the Viper at grid L-25, Eagleeye deploy a protective shield around T-Rex at his location on grid B-82!]_

He gave orders to his forces as they withstood the first wave of Advent forces, trying to hold off long enough against the massive force they were being forced to fight against. However he knew full well that his small squad, depleted of two of its best operatives, could not hope to survive long enough against the numbers Advent could throw against them.

It also didn't help him that Puppy was complaining, yet again, as to their position and her weaponry.

"Commander, I can't hit these guys for anything!" She complained as she provided Overwatch fire when an Archon flew toward T-Rex. "I need something that hits harder than this peashooter!"

 _[Puppy, provide supporting fire with Falcon, target the soldiers behind the wall along grid K-24!]_ He ordered.

"Yes Sir!" She groaned as she turned her rifle along with Falcon's Shredder, targeting the soldiers attacking them at long range with plasma rifles.

He turned his attention closer toward the woods and turned on his heat optical sensors, and in the distance he saw that there were half a dozen patrols closing in behind them. Beyond them he could see seven dozen more patrols heading toward them, and behind 'that' group were another sixteen dozen patrols.

 _[Central, how much longer before the Skyranger gets here?]_ He called Central.

{ETA six minutes Commander, just hang in there!} He called out.

 _[Central… if that Skyranger doesn't get here within the next four minutes, we won't be able to hold our position!]_ He declared as he ordered his sharks to throw grenades at the wall, blowing up as many positions as they could. _[We're already being hard pressed to hold this position, we've used up all of our grenades, and the trap we sprung only took out a single patrol! I'm running out of cards central, we can't stay for long!]_

{That's the best we can do Commander!}

 _[Lovely… it's a good thing I've still got one or two plans left to me then.]_ He declared as he turned his attention back to the facility. _[Shen, turn on the turrets covering our back, reprogram them to target any Advent forces approaching from the north!]_

{Sir, I won't be able to control them for long, eventually Advent will begin to regain control, and I'll have to shut them down again to prevent the Skyranger from being shot down!}

 _[Just do it!]_ He ordered. _[At least we'll be able to survive until the Skyranger gets here then!]_

{Understood, turrets coming on… hang on sir… I'm reading several explosions taking place.}

-Kshboooom-

He turned around and several simultaneous explosions occurring behind him, exactly where the turrets were supposed to be. He switched his vision back to heat signatures and saw that several of the Advent patrols were firing on the turrets between them and the facility. _[Impossible… they're shooting their own turrets?]_ He muttered as he saw them destroy yet another one.

{Sir, I'm reading multiple turrets going offline entirely, the ones I've managed to control are under fire and being destroyed, they won't last long enough to provide you any cover.} Shen said hysterically.

 _[They could not have known I planned on using the turrets to cover our backs for any time period…]_ He thought as he continued to order his sharks below him.

"Commander, the Advent forces are spreading out, their lines are thinning!" T-Rex yelled over the coms, getting his attention back to the facility.

Sure enough, all of the Advent forces manning the facility were beginning to spread out, thinning their battle line as they began sweeping around to surround them. What confused him even more was that half of them were taking cover and providing supporting fire for those that were running to surround them.

 _[Someone is directing them… they're acting far more organized than usual.]_ He thought as he checked all of the positions while his Gremlin calculated plans and strategies. _[T-Rex, Eagleeye, concentrate fire on grid J-17!]_

"Roger!" Eagleeye yelled as he unleashed fire from his Plasma Rifle, while T-Rex let off with his Plasma Repeater.

As he watched the plasma shots go, their target remained hidden behind what was left of the wall and only waited until after the shots had ended, before returning fire, targeting specifically where T-Rex had taken a defensive position again.

 _[They've never done 'that' before…]_ He commented while resuming giving orders.

Something was off, they didn't get this organized until just as he was about to give the order to turn the turrets against the reinforcing Advent troops. But he didn't have time to think about it as he saw Sharptooth, Hawkeye and Mercy exit the building from the northern entrance, behind the lines of the various troopers taking up positions behind the wall.

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy exited the facility into what could only be described as a warzone, in front of her plasma bolts and shredder fire were being traded between her former allies and her new allies. Already she could see several fallen Advent Soldiers, Vipers, Sectoids, multiple MEC units and even an Andromadon littering the ground as others continued to fight on without 'any' concern.

She could see in the distance where her new allies were bravely fighting, trying to keep the tide of Advent's forces at bay, but for each one they seemed to fell, two more took their place.

"Commander, we see you, what's the plan?" Hawkeye said over the coms.

Seconds later they were given orders to proceed forward toward the wall and begin firing 'at' XCOM's forces.

" **But… we can't attack our allies!"** Mercy hissed as Hawkeye and Sharptooth nodded, obeying the Commander's instructions.

"Oh yes we can, now either do what he says or we're all dead!" Sharptooth hissed furiously. "He only said to shoot 'at' them, not shoot them directly, now hurry up and shoot!"

She nodded and slithered over to the low wall and began to shoot at her new allies, trying her best to make sure not to actually hit any of them.

" **Kareminodosh!"** Someone yelled, causing her to turn to the side.

One of her sisters was pointing upward, and she followed the scaly hand to see that she was pointing at something in the sky, barely visible.

The Commander's Gremlin.

" **Attention all forces!"** A voice called out over the external coms of the facility. **"Target the floating machine high above!"**

Beside her Sharptooth and Hawkeye's skins almost seemed to turn white, as if their skins were reacting badly to something.

"Oh no…" Hawkeye whispered hoarsely as every single Trooper, Viper, Sectoid, and anything else obeyed the order instantly.

And open fired.

(The Commander's PoV)

A plasma bolt shot past him, causing him to shift his position frantically as several more began flying in his direction. _[Central, come in!]_ He yelled as he was forced to activate his shield to protect himself from more shots.

{What's going on Commander?} Central asked.

 _[They're firing on me, that's what!]_ He yelled. _[Advent is targeting the Gremlin!]_

{How is that possible, they've never even acknowledged you in that thing before?}

As he flipped to avoid more direct shots, trying to preserve his shield against the full power of Advent's firepower, he saw on the roof of the facility a lone Viper, observing the battlefield as an Advent Transport sat there.

He zoomed in and recognized the Viper as the Hierarch Mother, and saw that she was silently observing him and everything else below her. He also noticed that as she watched him, she kept her eyes squarely on him, barely even blinking as she tracked his movements.

 _[It's her, the Hierarch Mother…]_ He growled in frustration as he flipped again, trying to keep from being shot. _[She's the one directing Advent's forces, she must have figured out that this Gremlin is the one providing our forces the tactical information keeping them in the fight!]_ As he continued to dodge bolts and try to direct the sharks, the Advent forces were becoming increasingly difficult to kill as they took every advantage to return fire or avoid fire, depending on how he ordered the sharks to act. _[Where is that Skyranger, its getting out of control here?]_

{Almost there Commander, the Skyranger is three minutes away, you just need to hold out for three more minutes!}

 _[I can't, there's too much firepower!]_ He shouted as yet more plasma bolts fired on his dwindling shields as he decided to play his final card. _[Hawkeye, Sharptooth, Mercy, target the troopers closest to you and fire, you have to regroup with the other sharks before the Skyranger makes it here!]_

"Too late for that!" Hawkeye replied, and the Commander looked down to see Mercy, Sharptooth and Hawkeye all firing as they attempted to retreat toward the rest of the sharks.

"Commander, Advent's troopers were ordered to fire at each other, we were forced to shoot back." Sharptooth yelled as she ripped off her helmet and let loose with her rifle.

" **Affirmative, somehow they knew we were disguised among them!"** Mercy cried as she ducked to avoid plasma fire while attempting to return fire.

 _[Impossible, they couldn't have known!]_ He muttered in frustration, and then he looked back at the Hierarch Mother once more.

He saw she was still watching him like a bird of prey, and smirking as she watched him look upon her.

 _[She knew… how could she have known?]_ He yelled. _[It's impossible, how could she have figured it out? I gave no indications, no signals, everyone followed the plan to the letter… How could she figure it out?]_

With all the self-control he could muster, as well as what was left of the Gremlin's shield energy, he dove toward his sharks, retaining all knowledge of the terrain that he could so he could direct his forces.

He dove beneath the canopy of the trees and floated above Eagleeye's head while his Gremlin deployed another shield to cover Puppy as she ran to provide first aid to T-Rex, who had just received a plasma shot to his arm. _[Less then three minutes sharks, we need to hold out for less than three minutes!]_ He told them all, just as Mercy, Hawkeye and Sharptooth regrouped with them at last, taking cover behind what few trees remained at his command.

"I don't know if we can hold out for that long Commander." Falcon said calmly as he unleashed a Soul Lance against a single target, unable to hit anymore because none of the enemy were grouping up anymore.

"Yea, Falcon's got a point, there's just too many of them!" Eagleeye said as he emptied another clip of his Plasma Rifle. "I'm not sure if we can hold out that long!"

"We gata hold out, I don't wanna die here!" Puppy screamed in fear as plasma bolts bounced off her shield, absorbing the damage for her squad mate T-Rex.

"You heard the little lady, we aint come this far to die!" T-Rex shouted as he emptied what was left of his clip at a random enemy and missed entirely. "I'm empty, reloading!"

Suddenly shots were heard behind him and he turned around to see the first wave of reinforcements from the surrounding forest in positions, firing upon them but barely missing their positions. _[We've been flanked sharks!]_ He declared. _[Hawkeye, Sharptooth, fire at grids C-22 and B-15! Falcon fire at grid P-9!]_

Unfortunately he was so busy giving orders to fire that he had neglected one critical piece of information that his Gremlin was trying to send him. His Land Shark squad's ammo consumption. After T-Rex had run out of ammo, the others began running out as well.

"Empty, Reloading!" Hawkeye shouted as well.

"Need a reload!" Sharptooth yelled in panic as she took cover.

"My clip is dry, reloading!" Falcon yelled out as well, though he was calmer about it than the others.

As they all screamed about their weapons being empty, the plasma shots began firing toward them faster and more frequently, as more and more Advent forces joined those firing at them. Soon there were at least fifteen times more weapons being pointed at them as there were when everyone began screaming about needing to reload.

"Oh god we're ganna die, we're ganna die here!" Puppy yelled frantically as she ducked to avoid another burst of plasma shots.

 _[Puppy, Mercy, provide covering fire, you're the only ones with ammo in your rifles still!]_ He ordered. _[Target the troopers at grids U-22 and V-16!]_

(Mercy's PoV)

" **What does that mean?"** Mercy asked, panicking as she tried to figure out where to fire.

"SHOOT THE ONES NEAR THE WALL!" Puppy screamed as she raised her weapon and fired frantically, missing nearly every shot but still causing her target to duck.

Mercy responded and leaned out from the tree and fired at a sister near the wall. There was only a brief moment in which she made eye contact with her sister, and she made eye contact with her as well, and time seemed to slow down for her.

Her former sister looked no different than the majority of her sisters, the same yellowish scales and about the same height as she was. Her eyes were almost a similar color, orange and light green, and her fangs were just as sharp. Her tongue looked to have an extra foot in length compared to hers, but her frill was less wide than hers was.

At first she thought the look in her eyes showed fear, but she could clearly see that there was no fear in her sister's eyes. Then she thought that maybe she was confused, wondering why a fellow sister was fighting 'against' Advent and the Elders, but no the look was not confusion. Next she guessed that perhaps, it was fury, but that too was not the look of one who was angry.

The look in her former sister's eyes confused her greatly, it was not fear, nor confusion, nor even anger, and it didn't look like any other emotion she could recognize. It was bland, expressionless, as if her sister was merely doing what she was ordered to do and nothing more, as if the sight of her sister rebelling against the Elders was 'pointless', almost a trivial and meaningless matter. Her sister looked like a typical Advent Trooper clone, without care or concern for what she was doing, and only showing emotions when ordered to.

As if her sister were merely, playing a part.

For that brief moment, when she had fired upon one of her sisters, it seemed that time itself had stopped to let her glimpse all of those features she had, as if letting her know what she was about to do and the significance behind her actions. Time was slowing down, letting her see every agonizing moment, every tiny and insignificant detail, from the moment she trained her weapon to when she pulled the trigger, time wanted her to see everything so she would remember it.

But then time sped right back up, and the plasma bolt she fired went straight into her sister's head, and she collapsed, dead from the plasma shot.

At first she figured it was a mistake, but there was no doubt, it was her weapon that killed her former sister, and comrade as an Advent soldier, as Puppy's shots were too wide spread and so inaccurate that it was a miracle she even hit the wall in her panicked state of mind.

Then she heard more plasma bolts firing in her direction, and she responded with her own plasma shots.

Then more shots, and more shots, eventually all she could comprehend was that her finger wouldn't stop pulling the trigger of her weapon until it ran dry like her fellow XCOM soldier's weapons.

Even then, she couldn't stop firing, she merely reloaded her weapon and resumed fire.

Around her she heard the screams and yells as her new comrades in arms fought back valiantly, trying to stem the tide of Advent forces and hold them at bay for as long as they could. She heard the Commander giving orders, yelling about how much time was left, but again it seemed like time had slowed down for her as she only heard the sounds of battle around her.

But then her attention came back to her, and she heard the words of her Commander.

 _[EVAC IS HERE, LET'S GET OUT SHARKS!]_

Then she turned and fled toward the Skyranger as it lowered ropes for them all, grabbed one of them, and was pulled up into the vehicle. There was a moment as it began to fly upward and away from the facility, when she turned and watched an Advent Transport leaving the facility in the opposite direction, and was obviously well past the first line of turrets.

 _[Brace yourselves!]_ The Commander yelled as the door closed shut and a screen turned on, showing the facility they just left.

As they watched a massive explosion occurred, erupting from the facility as it exploded into a massive mushroom cloud with a huge shockwave erupting. Then they all felt the shockwave shake the Skyranger. The shockwave itself was followed by a wave of fire as the explosion expanded to encompass the area around what was left of the facility, and the camera expanded outward to show it consuming everything in a radius of seventy miles of the facility.

The screen changed again to show the explosion's radius, estimating that it reached up to the fourth defensive line of turrets, and showing only a scarce few Advent signals beyond 'that' line.

In other words, nearly every single Advent soldier, Viper, Sectoid, Andromadon, MEC unit, anything within 'that' radius of the facility was engulfed and obliterated by the explosion. The shockwave itself went up to the sixth line, and would finish off anything breathing.

Remembering that just as they left she had seen a transport leaving, she sighed in relief, the only sigh of relief she could give herself because she knew what that transport was about.

Her species' Hierarch Mother had escaped.

But even as she sighed in relief, she couldn't understand what was going through her mind or heart.

She was happy, relieved even, that her Hierarch Mother had escaped, but she was showing no mourning or loss toward her sisters caught in the blast. How many Vipers had died in that explosion, an explosion she herself had assisted with?

And why did she not feel any remorse for killing any of them, even the ones she didn't kill directly?

She looked over to her new allies now, trying to find any explanation, but there was none to be had.

Eagleeye and T-Rex were holding themselves from wounds, Falcon was apparently meditating, Sharptooth and Hawkeye were breathing heavily. Puppy was slowly recovering from her panic, breathing frantically as she tried to calm herself down. Even Eagleeye's Gremlin and the Commander's Gremlin looked to be recovering, as they both simply sat on the floor, one depowered and the other looking at them every few seconds.

" **Are all… missions… like this?"** She asked them quietly as the Skyranger flew on.

There was silence before Puppy looked over and gave a halfhearted chuckle. "Welcome… to XCOM… Mercy." She whispered. "Every mission is a risk… and because we're the Land Sharks… we take on the tough missions, the other two squads can't handle. Nobody else can pull off what we just did…"

She sighed and nodded, hissing nervously as she checked her weapon, anything to distract her from the horror of the battle.

Her weapon had jammed up, at some point it had jammed up. She was amazed that it didn't explode, if it hadn't been modified by the XCOM forces, it would have exploded if it had jammed.

She owed her life to her new allies…

(The Commander's PoV, many hours later)

He floated into his room to send out the transmission to the Council, informing him of the success of his operation.

Minutes later he watched as the screen changed to a blurred and distorted image of the Council member's face.

 _{Commander, I am pleased to have learned about the destruction of the Avalon Facility, I am grateful to know that my trust in your efforts have been rewarded.}_ He said with his hands cupped together.

 _[Thank you for the vote of confidence Council, and I have good news concerning my 'other' operation.]_ He said with a nod. _[I can safely confirm that I have succeeded in what we discussed before about my plan.]_

 _{You have successfully converted one of the aliens to our cause?} He asked, his voice sounding mildly surprised._

 _[Indeed Council, she is the Viper from before, and we have called her Mercy.]_ He said with a proud voice. _[She was instrumental in destroying the Avalon Facility today, and she open fired upon her former allies without hesitation and even confirmed a kill for herself. Central and I are thinking about integrating her into a full-fledged member of XCOM as an operative. However before that happens, we have some things to work out, such as informing the rest of the resistance that we have an alien working alongside us. It will 'not' be easy getting them to go along with it.]_

 _{Perhaps Commander, but even so, this operation was one that I had very high expectations for, and I am pleased to say that you have exceeded them greatly.}_ He said with a nod. _{I will handle the talks with the various resistance cells about integrating this viper into XCOM and the resistance effort. For now, I will leave you to deal with continuing to deal with our 'guests' and their Avatar Project. Good Luck, Commander.]_

With that the transmission ended and was replaced by the XCOM logo. He sighed in relief as he sent a request for Central to join him.

Minutes later Central joined him in the room with a data pad in hand. "Commander, how you feeling?" He asked.

 _[The Gremlin took no damage, thanks to Shen's shield modification, how are the Sharks doing is what I'm concerned about?]_ He asked as he extended his claw for the pad.

"Well, not looking too good." He replied as he handed the pad over. "Med labs report that T-Rex sustained a bit of plasma damage to his shoulders and legs, Eagleeye took a few bolts to the chest, Sharptooth was relatively unharmed, Puppy wasn't injured at all, Mercy too avoided blasts and taking any damage, Hawkeye too managed to avoid injuries, and Falcon sustained a few minor injuries."

He read the report for himself and saw the extent of the damage. His sharks would be out of commission for at least twenty three days, they managed to avoid more serious injuries thanks to Puppy's med kits, but it would be a while before they could go on another full-fledged mission together as a whole squad. What the report didn't state was the mental stress that his sharks had gone through, Puppy was no doubt recovering as best she could with Hawkeye and Sharptooth in the mess hall, while Mercy was undergoing a physical exam with a female nurse.

 _[I almost got them all killed Central…]_ He said quietly as he put the pad down. _[That was the closest I've ever come Central to ever losing an entire squad for a mission. That has never happened to me before since the old days when I was still inexperienced.]_

"Sir, you can't blame yourself, there was no way you could have predicted everything that happened to you today." Central said. "What's important is that we shut down another facility, a big one this time, and everyone got out alive. Sure we suffered a bruise here or there, but we're not down and we're from being out."

 _[No, I can't predict everything, but I sure as hell can prepare for anything.]_ He said as he looked at Central. _[I can prepare for 'anything' Central. That is the one advantage I have over Advent and almost 'any' general in the history of ever. I have the collected knowledge of over twenty years' experience of nearly any and all situations that could ever play out in a battle. I also have the support of an onboard computer capable of computing and calculating up to sixty four Petabytes of data a minute. I have more thinking power with this little Gremlin aiding me than half of the human species put together, there is nothing I can't prepare for!]_

"So how come you couldn't prepare for what happened today sir?" Central asked quietly, but he made sure to keep his tone as respectful as always.

He sighed in frustration and looked around. _[I don't know, and 'that's' what I don't get… I don't understand how what happened earlier, happened!]_ He said. _[It was as if… the Hierarch Mother, 'knew' my strategies, and when I would implement them when I implemented them, but only 'after' I revealed our position. Until that happened, everything went according to plan, but afterwards it all began falling apart!]_

"But that's impossible…" He said in confusion. "The only way she could have known would be…"

 _{Central, we have an urgent transmission coming in on a resistance frequency!}_ The intercom said.

 _[Patch it through to here!]_ He ordered, turning the terminal on to the Avenger's communications grid.

The screen changed to a hazy image of what looked like a darkened room, and a shadowed image of a woman appeared, apparently sitting with a light behind her to keep her from being seen. _"Commander, this is Venus, I apologize for the lateness of my signal, but this is a prerecorded message carrying information vital to your survival!"_

They heard the sound of banging from somewhere in the distance and Venus' voice became more frantic.

" _I'm afraid to say, that I was not able to contact Big Sister in time, and Advent has learned of my involvement with the resistance effort."_ Venus continued. _"Therefore, to ensure this message reaches you, I have transcoded it to send it to you along the resistance network at a later time. What I'm about to say is of vital importance, Advent has completed a prototype of the…"_

-BANG-

" _Shit!"_ Venus screamed and she spun around, just as several shadowy figures stormed in.

" **Karemenosh!"** An alien voice hissed loudly, and suddenly the camera swung wide as it was knocked over.

He didn't need to know what was going on, he could tell what had happened. Venus had been found, and in her last desperate act to give information vital to the resistance, she had been interrupted before it could be completely given.

He expected the transmission to end, but no it continued, for some reason it was still going and he could hear the sounds of a woman screaming and struggling, as well as pained hisses and yells.

" _ **Hold her ssssteady…"**_ A voice declared, a distinctly female voice of authority. _**"I want her… unharmed… for now."**_

He floated closer to the screen as he heard the voice, it sounded very familiar.

" _Let me go… you… bastards!"_ He heard Venus screaming as she struggled.

" _ **Steady… ssssteady now…"**_ That voice from before sounded as the struggling sounds continued. _**"Good… now pick up that camera and… reposition it."**_

The camera was picked up as a scaly hand was seen from the front, and soon it was repositioned where it was and the hand was removed. In Venus' place though was a figure very unhuman.

It was a Viper, the very same Viper that he was just talking about with Central moments ago.

The Hierarch Mother.

The light was adjusted though so they could see her more clearly, on either side of her were Vipers wearing very specialized armor, and off to the side, though only her lower body could be seen, was a bound Venus as she was wrapped up tightly by another Viper, unable to move any more.

" _ **I am glad we caught this 'traitor' in the middle of a… transsssmission… to her fellow collaborators."**_ She said with a hint of glee that was masked by the venom of hatred in her tone. _**"I hope this transmissssion doesss reach you 'Commander'… because the Elders have placed finding and capturing you… at the highest of my instructions…"**_

She held out a hand and bent her head faintly in a mock imitation of a respectful bow, but they could see her eyes glinting with glee as she stared into the camera. _**"I am… as you know by now… the Hierarch Mother… of the Viper's Species to the Advent Coalition."**_ She returned to her previous position and clasped her hands in front of her. _**"I must admit, what you did today… only a military genius could have pulled off… I should know, I studied from the best. Managing to get a group of resistance soldiers, past twelve miles of turret and troop patrols, by using the 'only' oversight we had, an unmanned train transport, and then slipping into the facility that was being monitored constantly by disguising as guards and even using one of our own to fool usss… not only that, but planting the explosives required in the middle of an armed facility without raising suspicions until the last possible moment?"**_

She smiled almost proudly as she said that, and both he and Central could hear the hatred barely being contained behind her smile.

" _ **Only 'you' could have pulled it off… 'Commander'."**_ She resumed. _**"And I 'know' it was you, because it was the only plan that 'I' could have come up with that could have pulled off what you did. Oh… but where are my manners… I forgot to mention 'how' I could have figured that out… the crucial details you must be 'dying' to figure out! How could I have countered your plans 'after' you revealed yourselves, so easily… how indeed?"**_

She smiled even wider as she let her tongue out of her mouth to taste the air, still glaring at them with barely contained hatred behind that smile she wore. _**"After you revealed yourself, I guessed that, with the threat of our overwhelming numbers, and the distance your escape craft would have to cover… adding the limited number of forces you had at your disposal, and the critical amount of time necessary to escape, you would have thought to use the very turrets you shut down to buy you time and even the odds… and assuming that went well, you would have added to the confusion by turning your own forces hidden among our own against us, dividing our attention and preventing us from coordinating against you effectively while the confusion destroyed our ranks. By the time we could regroup and push against you again, your escape would have been secured, and you would have been long gone… it was indeed a brilliant plan… if I didn't expect it to begin with."**_ She continued to smile as she slithered closer to the camera to show even more of her figure, especially her face, which was almost beaming proudly at them now. _**"Indeed… a military genius you are 'Commander'… and I should know one… because I 'am' one myself. I did say I studied from the best… and you are indeed the best. You don't remember me of course… after you were ripped from our… psionic network… your connection to us was lost… your connection to 'me' was lost."**_

She lifted her scaly head to reveal the softer scales of her neck, where they could see just a small incision that had been scabbed over. A similar incision that he himself had on his body, where Dr. Tygan had removed his psionic chip from him upon being retrieved by the resistance.

" _ **You were 'my' superior Commander… I was the next link in the chain of command below you, only you were the closer to the Elders compared to me. And I was your loyal officer, using all of your knowledge against the feeble resistance this planet offered long before you were lost to Advent."**_ She said as she resumed her normal stance. _**"Oh how my psionic chip… how it still remembers your thoughts… how it share your knowledge with me… every day I learned from you and you benefited us greatly. Even now it still faintly remembers everything you taught me… We made a powerful force you and I, while you learned ever more tactics, I studied and implemented them with great efficiency and effectiveness. My forces were all but unstoppable. But you were truly a master, what would have taken me months to understand, you figured out in half of the time, strategies that would have been beyond me were crystal clear to you! Oh… how I miss those days…"**_

She beamed proudly again as she tapped her firearm. _**"But when you return to Advent… we will be whole once more…"**_

" _DON'T COUNT ON IT, SCALE FACE!"_ Venus screamed loudly as she was muffled once again off screen.

" _ **Ah yes… defiant to the end…"**_ The Hierarch Mother hissed as she turned to look at Venus. _**"Alas… your fate is sealed… Advent tolerates no traitors… and you were one of our best technical experts in the field of robotic engineering here… what a pity."**_ She hissed in mock sadness as she pulled out her pistol and aimed it at Venus' head. _**"I am so sorry, but to coin a human phrase… you are officially… 'Terminated'... and we don't mean you're 'fired'."**_

" _VIGILO… CONFIDO!"_ Venus shrieked fearfully as the plasma pistol was being fired, and the Viper holding Venus knocked the camera down again, concealing the sight of a plasma bolt being fired and hitting something made of flesh.

But they still heard the sound, the sound of said plasma bolt hitting something made of flesh, as well as a splattering sound, before finally a thud resounded as something heavy hit the floor.

" _ **Pick up that camera again!"**_ The Hierarch Mother ordered, and seconds later the camera was replaced, but just in frame was a dead body, bleeding across the floor, but the upper neck and head were concealed in shadow, yet it was obviously Venus' clothes that the body was wearing. _**"Vigilo Confido indeed…"**_ She hissed as she replaced the gun on her holster. _**"I have to say Commander… you have done a spectacular job these last few years… and this latest feat has won you 'a' war…"**_

She began clapping her scaly hands in applaud, smirking again.

" _ **Congratulations Commander… you've done it… there will be no further research on the Avatar Project, not as long as you and your wretched XCOM exist!"**_ She hissed furiously, no longer smiling. _**"Oh, don't think we haven't given up on the Avatar Project, but as long as you and your 'XCOM' live we cannot risk it being jeopardized! So 'I' will be the one to end you and your pathetic 'resistance' once and for all."**_

She glared into the camera again and let her tongue sniff at the air. _**"I promise you Commander, I will not stop until you are captured…"**_ But then she smiled almost warmly again. _**"And once you are back in the psionic network, we will be whole once more… I fondly miss when we used your knowledge to subdue what was left of this planet's resistance. It will feel good once more to have your thoughts… controlling my actions… once again."**_

She began chuckling again almost as if thinking of an inside joke. _**"This is the only warning I give you Commander… surrender now… turn yourself in while you can. If you do I promise your XCOM forces will be granted mercy, their lives spared. Resist… well…"**_ She nodded her head at the corpse beside her. _**"You know what to expect of 'traitors'… the game is on Commander… the board is set and the pieces are placed… let the first moves be made."**_

She held out one scaly hand and almost beckoned toward him, before hissing, _**"I've made my move, it's your turn now… Commander…"**_

The signal froze and the image was stuck on the Viper's smiling face as it ended.

 _[Central… your firearm… that is an order.]_ He commanded as he extended his claw to Central.

"Sir… what do you…?" Central began saying.

 _[NOW!]_ He yelled.

With only a slight hesitation Central pulled out his pistol and handed it to him via the claw, without a second's thought he pointed it at the monitor and pulled the trigger.

-BANG-

The screen shattered and sparked as the electrical circuits were exposed, suddenly alarms began going off around the room as it registered the fire of a weapon within his quarters.

 _{Shen to Commander, we registered a shot in there, what's going on?}_ Shen asked frantically.

 _[Computer, disregard alarm!]_ He yelled, and the alarms turned off. _[Nothing Shen, just 'venting' my anger.]_

There was silence before Shen acknowledged what he said.

 _[And have someone replace the terminal in my quarters when you get the chance.]_ He continued while staring intently at what 'was' the image of the Hierarch Mother. _[If she wants a war… she's got a war.]_ He turned back to Central and stared intently at him while returning the firearm. _[Central, take us back to the den, we need supplies and we need intelligence. I want us there by the end of the week, get in touch with all resistance cells and began gathering as much information as they can get. Advent is on the move and we need to be a step ahead of them if we're to win this war!]_


	9. Chapter 9

(Incoming Transmission. . . Establishing Connection. . .)

(… psst… psst… It is becoming… to maintain discretion…)

(… they… destroying all of our… connections becoming harder to…)

(… if this continues… we cannot hide… Hierarch Mother…)

(… is searching harder for us… must break the connection now…)

(… good luck…)

=Chapter 9, Divide between Trust and Ashes=

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy watched from the mess hall, separated from everyone else but the three remaining members of the Land Sharks squad, the screen as the Commander led the Gamma Raptors in their latest assignment.

A data retrieval operation.

Unfortunately it had gone horribly wrong.

"They're completely surrounded!" Dragonfang shouted as everyone watched.

 _ ***Surrounded is an understatement…***_ She thought sadly as her tail coiled miserably below her.

It was true, the famed Gamma Raptors and their legend for quick and decisive actions, had failed to reach the data storage unit before they were surrounded on all sides, both above and below the buildings in New Gallipoli. They were completely surrounded and taking fire from all sides as the Commander tried to coordinate and regroup the Raptors.

It had started out well enough, the Gamma's infiltrated the city without being spotted, slipped past two patrols unnoticed, and were a mere minute away from reaching the data storage device. But then it all went terribly wrong, suddenly they were completely surrounded on all sides. Four troopers had the rangers pinned down, forcing them to regroup with the Rookie and technician. The Grenadier had been pushed back to the rest of his squad, and the Commander was now trying desperately to fight back with his surrounded forces.

Yet from what she knew of the Gamma Raptors from Puppy, their specialty was quick and accurate strikes, not long drawn out battles, and it was showing as the battle continued.

Two of the Raptor's Rangers were hit by plasma fire, and the Rookie was clutching his side as he returned fire. The Technician was unable to get his Gremlin close enough to reach the data unit, and was ordered to use his Gremlin to heal injuries instead of going on the offensive. Finally the Grenadier had expended his last smoke screen and emptied what was left of his clip into the side of a building, unable to hit the sharpshooters on the roof.

"This isn't good, they've got no time left!" Puppy whispered as the time ticked down in the corner, indicating how much time was left before the data was erased.

Unfortunately the Commander seemed to have determined that it was time to leave, and one of the Rangers tossed the blue smoke, calling for immediate Evac. A minute later the Skyranger came over them, and they all began pulling out, returning fire as they made their escape.

The transmission ended with the Commander entering the vessel last, and looking at his beleaguered Raptors, clutching their wounds and looking disappointed.

"Another failure!" Chopper complained bitterly as everyone went back to their meals, albeit with a more mournful attitude.

"That makes three operations in a row ambushed." Nidhug, another of the Water Dragon's Technicians complained. "How is the Commander letting this happen?"

"If you ask me, someone's got to be feeding them information." Juliet, one of the Water Dragon's Grenadiers declared. "We've never been outmatched like this before, especially 'after' the Commander took over again."

"Nobody's slipping information to them." Hawkeye declared, and everyone went quiet as he spoke. "We know full well that the only ones who know what the Commander's plans are, are him and Central. So unless you're suggesting one of 'them' are ratting us out…"

Everyone went even quieter at that statement, before they turned back to their meals.

He looked over at her and smiled, giving her a faint nod as he went back to his meal as well.

She nodded her head in gratitude and lapped up the last of her venison meat the chef provided her with. It wasn't a wonder as to where 'that' conversation was leading to before he stepped in. There was still great distrust of her aboard the Avenger, especially now that they were starting to lose battle after battle against their enemy.

 _ ***It has been like this for over three weeks… defeat, after defeat, after miserable defeat.***_ She thought sadly. _***Now the Gamma Raptors are out of the picture for a while. How much more can the resistance take before they lose?***_

Ever since her Hierarch Mother declared a personal war against XCOM and the resistance effort, the Commander has made it a personal effort to try and defeat the greatest general that Advent had in its disposal. She herself knew how skilled her Hierarch Mother was, she had led Advent's forces against the entire Earth Resistance effort in the waning years since the Advent Coalition was founded. In a single year she and her forces single handedly conquered fifteen nations, across two entire continents, all without destroying a single civilian target and without damaging any of the nations' infrastructure.

She had then spent the next nineteen years quelling various resistance efforts and guerilla groups, all without ever letting the populace know of such groups, and propagating them as 'terrorists' to anyone who did learn of them.

Yet now they were fighting her, and despite their belief in the Commander's capabilities, the war was going horrible for them.

"But how can she be beating us?"Puppy asked quietly, trying to keep the Water Dragons from overhearing. "I mean, we've had rough days and tough fights before, but never 'this' badly. The only thing going in our favor is that nobody's died."

"Don't worry, the Commander won't let us down, he'll find a way to turn this around." Sharptooth said as she ate her potatoes. "He hasn't come this far to lose everything now. Bet you desert that he's got some kind of plan in the works."

" **If he does… I hope he implements it soon 'sister'."** She said as respectfully as she could, using the honorific term for a fellow 'female'. **"With each defeat he sustains… the Hierarch Mother becomes bolder in her actions."**

"That's something we can all agree on." Hawkeye said in agreement. "If he has a plan, he better implement it fast. I'm not sure how many more losses we can take."

"Not to mention our supplies." Puppy said instantly, to which everyone looked at her. "What… was it something I said?"

"How do you know about that?" Sharptooth hissed.

" **What is wrong?"** Mercy asked curiously.

"Puppy…" Hawkeye asked, ignoring her question.

"Uh… you know just… heard from a guy… who knew a guy… who knew it from another guy." Puppy mumbled.

"You were snooping around with Eagleeye's Gremlin again, weren't you?" Sharptooth asked.

"Okay so I was, I just sorta… stumbled on it alright… I haven't told anyone!"

"That's not the point, that information is meant ONLY for Captain ranked operatives and higher." Sharptooth growled at Puppy. "You're just a Rookie, you're not supposed to even see that information, let alone know it!"

" **What is wrong with our supplies?"** Mercy asked, now curious about what it was that Puppy learned that she wasn't supposed to learn.

Hawkeye sighed as he looked up at them. "Alright, but this doesn't leave the room, the Water Dragons are all Captains and higher so they already know." He said as he leaned forward. "What Puppy wasn't supposed to learn, was that our supplies have been running thin as of two weeks ago. Materials are becoming harder to come by, and the resistance cells are having a hard time scavenging anything 'useful' for us to give to us."

" **But your storerooms are full…"** Mercy hissed in shock.

She knew the storerooms were full of supplies, she herself had spent the last few weeks moving crates around and acting as a deck hand as per the Commander's orders. She knew their supplies of food and drink were quite well.

"Food is one thing, but weapons and materials are another." Hawkeye muttered. "The armory is being stingy with what armaments they give the squads, all weapons that aren't being used are to be stored unless authorized. The firing range has switched over to paintball ammo to make up for the lack of munitions. We simply are running out of materials to fight with."

" **It is 'that' bad?"** Mercy asked nervously.

"Yep, heard the Commander himself talking about it with Central." Sharptooth said. "If we don't get anything good soon in the next month's supply drop, we're going to be in real trouble. We can't fight Advent with what we have, we really need supplies of weapons and armaments."

Mercy looked down at what was left of her meal and wondered what was going to happen to the resistance. They were fighting an uphill battle, but a month ago she had imagined them having a great chance of winning. Before that, when she was still working for Advent, she had thought they had a chance of defeating Advent despite the odds. But now that she was on the other side, she saw how dire and desperate their struggle 'really' was.

It seemed the tide of the war had turned, and not in the direction she wanted it to, now that she appeared to be on the losing side.

(The Commander's PoV, two hours later)

 _{Commander, I am sorry to say that your efforts in the past month have been, 'unsatisfactory'… concerning the struggle against our guests. Despite your obvious, best efforts, we must work to improve the current situation, if we are to turn the tide of this war.}_

 _[Understood Council… I will work to improve our current position.]_ He said as respectfully as he could.

 _{See that you do Commander… good day.}_ He said, before the transmission ended.

He grunted angrily and floated over to his terminal. _[What more do you want from me Council? It's taking everything I have now just to keep our organization floating!]_ He said as he called for Central to join him. _[I'm working with small squads of forces in desperate struggles, that are getting ambushed each time, and we can't even get close to our objectives before we're surrounded and forced to retreat without suffering losses. Losses that I cannot afford to lose at this stage!]_ Minutes later Central walked in, as serious as he ever was. _[Central, tell me you have good news for me!]_

"I'm afraid not sir, med lab reports that the Gamma Raptors will be out of commission for at least two weeks." He said as he handed him a pad, which contained all of the injuries his Raptors sustained.

 _[Another squad out of commission, and what about the Land Sharks?]_ He asked.

"Falcon just reported a clean bill of health, he's fit for duty again, so at least the Sharks are back up to full strength." Central said.

 _[At least 'one' good thing happened today.]_ He complained bitterly. _[What about the cell information, have we got any good supply targets to hit?]_

"Afraid not sir, it seems Advent has changed its tactics concerning supply convoys. They're all being transported from city to city in UFO's, any and all train convoys are now traveling at twice the normal speed, making it impossible for us to hit them. Any supply trucks are no longer moving in groups, instead they're delivering cargo one at a time and under extremely heavy guard, making it impossible for our forces to hit them."

 _[More good news… what about the recent supply drop, have you deciphered the coordinates in this area?]_

"Yes sir, unfortunately it seems, Advent found it first, there's nothing left except a few empty crates." Central said bitterly.

 _[This day, just gets 'better' and 'better', doesn't it?]_ He whispered angrily. _[First it was a simple hostage rescue, which turns out to be a 'Faceless' in disguise, as well as an ambush. Then it was a supply convoy, which turned out to be full of 'empty' containers, 'and' an ambush. Now a vital information retrieval mission, and we don't even know if it was fake because we were 'AMBUSHED' and forced to flee! Can anything else go wrong today?]_

"I'm afraid our munitions are in the red Commander, if we don't get anything soon…" Central began saying but he silenced him.

 _[I know, we're going to have to take desperate measures!]_ He said instantly. _[Do you have a list of what we can sell for supplies?]_

"Yes sir, but this is pretty much all we've got left to sell." Central sighed bitterly as he handed him another pad.

He looked over the contents of the next pad and tossed it angrily on the floor. _[The Council tells me to improve the situation, everyone is counting on me to turn the tide, but when push comes to shove everything just hits the fan!]_ He shouted angrily. _[Damn that Hierarch Mother to the inferno… everything was going fine until a month ago. It wasn't hopeless back then, but now she's practically undone everything we have worked so hard to achieve. In one month, and three battles, she has destroyed what we have worked five years for! Oh sure we've stopped the Avatar Project, for now, but now the Speaker has quite a lot to talk about us!]_

He turned to the terminal on the wall, punched in some commands, and brought up the latest 'heartwarming speech' from the Speaker.

 _ **{This latest attack on the homes of innocent civilians proves once again, that those who would drive us back to the ways of the old world, cannot possibly break the bond between Humanity and the Elders!}**_ The calm and almost tear stricken face of the Speaker said behind his glasses. _**{Earlier today XCOM terrorists attempted to attack and destroy an Advent facility, that unfortunately was in very close proximity to a humanitarian facility, which catered endlessly to the hungry and needy innocents that have found their way to our wonderful city, here in New Gallipoli. This attack has left many innocents harmed, but thanks to Peace Keeping forces, we can rest assured that these poor, hungry, and now homeless individuals, will most assuredly be kept safe and…}**_

He shut off the terminal and cursed furiously. _[First it was an 'assassination' attempt of the head of a gene therapy clinic, who supposedly was researching a cure for a cancer that had failed to escape the Elder's research. Then it was the destruction of a convoy of 'medicine' and 'food' meant for elementary schools, donated by underpaid civilians in one of the cities. Now it's a 'Soup Kitchen' that just so happened to have been one of the buildings that we 'accidentally' damaged in our attempt to run away.]_ He growled as he looked at Central. _[We both know that stuff is made up, there never was a head of a gene therapy clinic, nor was there any food or medicine in that convoy, and that certainly wasn't a soup kitchen that we damaged. We're losing the fight to gain the support of our people. If we can't get people to side with us, then we'll lose the fight altogether…]_

"So what are we going to do now?" Central asked calmly, knowing he was just venting his frustration at the situation.

He sighed and grabbed the data pad from the floor. _[What we need to do to win, have the supplies ready for transport, I'm taking Puppy, Mercy, and Hawkeye down to the market.]_ He declared.

"Are you sure it's safe to bring Mercy Commander?" He said.

 _[Council has had some talks with the various resistance cells, and while it took some convincing, they've accepted her as being on 'our' side Central.]_ He said. _[Besides, I need the Water Dragons here since two of their members are still out of commission, and I want the Sharks to be at the ready if something happens and I need them.]_

"Understood sir, I'll have them waiting at the landing ramp." Central said.

 _[Dismissed.]_

Central nodded and left the room, leaving him alone once more to brood over the situation, and as he did he turned and looked back at his desk. _[Well, the next few hours will be interesting to say the least.]_ He declared as he imagined the nest's reaction to Mercy being there with them.

(Hawkeye's PoV, ten minutes later)

"Finally we get to leave the bird and head on down to the nest!" Puppy yelled as she stretched outside the loading ramp.

"This isn't some pleasure visit Puppy, we're here to pick up supplies." Hawkeye said instantly.

"Oh come on, don't spoil the mood Hawkeye, when do we ever return home?" She said, dragging the hover crate behind her. "I can't wait to see the market again, I hope someone has an antique or two they'd be willing to sell me."

" **Market? Nest?"** Mercy asked them curiously.

"The nest, home base for the resistance." Hawkeye said behind her as they trudged through the forest toward the nest. "That's where the Avenger was located, and eventually transformed into what it is now."

 _[Keep the chatter to a minimum you three.]_ The Commander said as he floated above them and in the lead. _[Remember, this 'isn't' a visit, as Hawkeye said. We're here to visit the grey market, sell some 'items', and get some supplies and Intel, is that understood?]_

"Understood sir…" Puppy said, though she sounded unhappy as she did. "So when will we be visiting the nest, properly, I mean?"

 _[When I say we can, until then…]_ The Commander said as he floated down and stared into Puppy's eyes. _[Be quiet, Agent Puppy!]_

Puppy's only response was to nod nervously, before going back to silently pushing her hover crates forward. All three of them, especially Mercy, decided it was best not to make the Commander angry, and he knew why he was acting this way. But even as they saw the nest drawing closer in the distance, he couldn't help but feel pity for Puppy. It wasn't her fault that she was excited at finally being back home in the nest on the east coast of what 'was' the United States.

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy watched as they approached the human resistance settlement, and the first thing she expected from being in the heart of enemy territory, was to be surrounded on all sides by soldiers. After hearing about the 'Nest' and how it was considered the resistance soldier's home, she expected it to be heavily fortified, with soldiers marching left and right, men and women armed to the teeth and all of them with the look of determined resistance soldiers.

Her imagination portrayed heavy defensive turrets, with walls lined with soldiers, heavily fortified buildings each of which were armed to resist even the mightiest of Muton assaults.

What she did not expect, were makeshift buildings, fields of farms, or the sight of young children running around. The inhabitants of the Nest were far from the terrorists she imagined they were, as she walked through the marketplace, which was filled with makeshift stands, where various farmers were selling or trading their crops, and traders were advertising their finds and merchandise.

The people, those who obviously lived here, looked no different than those humans she'd seen in the cities. Here and there were small groups of humans, talking among themselves, gossiping about this and that, or showing off what they had purchased or found in the marketplace. The women showed off clothes they had either made themselves or had purchased, while the men were laughing or talking among themselves at some joke.

Yet the one thing she did expect, and did indeed meet her expectation, were the stares of mistrust the moment 'she' appeared.

All around her people glared at her, or simply stayed away from her, even a few of the children who saw her turned and ran away.

 _ ***At least they don't harm me.***_ She thought comfortingly as she slithered passed another set of stands, in which the people who were bartering tried to ignore her, but failed miserably upon her passing by.

Yet in contrast to her, the moment the Commander's Gremlin flew past, people applauded and cheered for him. One of the merchants even asked if he needed anything of something he called, 'tomatoes' or 'beef'. Yet the Commander simply replied that he was busy, and had to be on his way soon.

Their trip through the market was brief, and not brief enough by her estimates. Even though it was only a few minutes, with her obeying the Commander's orders to remain silent, she couldn't wait to return to the Avenger, where she was away from those who obviously feared and despised her.

At least on the Avenger, the crew had gotten used to her, and the only bad things she received were the occasional 'silent treatments'. Silent because, according to Sharptooth, it was how those who still didn't like her, dealt with her.

 _[Here we are.]_ He told them all as they neared a truly run down building, with moss and vines growing out of the wall.

It was a truly despicable building, it looked like it was made of old bricks, kept together by pasted moss, and had three walls that were barely standing with the fourth holding on to the roof for dear life. The roof itself was, nothing more than a metal sheet. Though how they called it a 'building' was beyond her as she stared at it.

She was almost as tall as the walls were, even Puppy was almost as tall as the door, and it was barely as wide as the three of them were standing side by side.

" **What is… this place?"** She asked skeptically as the Commander's Gremlin floated over to the door.

"Don't ask me, I've never even been allowed here." Puppy said.

"This information is classified to Lieutenant and above, so what you see here does not reach anyone else, is that clear you two?" Hawkeye said in an official voice.

"Sir, yes sir!" Puppy said instantly.

" **Yes, sir…"** Mercy said, knowing he was only doing this to keep her safe.

 _[Quiet!]_ The Commander said again. _[I need to concentrate!]_

He floated before the door and extended the metal claw attachment, knocked five times, waited six seconds, knocked twice again, waited another six seconds, and knocked another five times before floating backward.

Instantly a small opening appeared, and a pair of eyes shrouded in shadow appeared. "To whom, the bell tolls?" The voice asked in a hoarse whisper.

 _[It tolls to the one who seeks the answers!]_ The Commander replied.

"And what business does the one with no legs and eyes, no mouth or ears, no skin or tongue, have in the building with no room for more than one to stand?" The voice asked again.

 _[The same business that he who would stand at the top of the world with all of its pleasures and woes, have when he enters that building, with nothing more than what he carries.]_

"How many enters the land of shadow and light, which borders between good and evil, yet stands for neither one of the two, and offers help to those with limbs?"

 _[We four who walk on two, slither on one, and float on none…]_

The opening shut tight, and they all heard something clinking and clattering on the other side. Moments later the door opened and on the other side of the door was a heavily robed man, with his face shrouded by a veil. "Come in…" He said, before turning around and walking away, vanishing as he fell into the ground.

The Commander beckoned them to follow him as he led the way, once inside the building she saw that, what was an 'empty' building, was really nothing more than a cover for an underground staircase, large enough to allow their hover crates to pass through. With Puppy in the Lead, Hawkeye in the center, and her behind, they all followed the Commander's Gremlin as they descended into the very ground with their cargo.

What was inside them she didn't really know, and she wasn't about to ask anyone as they went deeper and deeper.

Soon the light was so bad that they had to turn on their helmet lights to see, with hers being a specially modified one for a makeshift helmet Shen had made in her spare time. But still, deeper and deeper they walked, circling the staircase as the stone steps became slightly damp with wetness, and even the air began to reek of a foul stench.

After five minutes more of climbing down the stairs, avoiding the various platforms that branched off, they finally reached a platform which the Commander got off and told them to follow him still. Then he ordered them to turn off their lights, which they did.

They were soon led by the same robed individual to a special door, with a symbol that she did not recognize on it. He knocked on it once and it opened instantly, and another robed man, but this time his face was completely covered in darkness, stood there before them. "Come in… come in…" He said warmly, yet his warmth masked the greed behind his words. "The market is always open for business, especially for one of our most 'valued' customers."

 _[Good to know.]_ The Commander said as he floated in first, followed by the man, and then the three of them and their cargo crates.

As she entered she saw a small table in the empty room, with stone walls and only a lightbulb for illumination. The man went around the room and stood with his hands clasped behind him, and only by the light of the bulb, did she see a wicked smile on his face as he looked at them.

Yet that was all she could see, as she dared not look any more at him, as his very appearance frightened her with his mysterious look.

He seemed like one who was not to be trifled with, and was not to be underestimated.

"Oh… I see… you've brought a 'live' one my friend." He said as he looked at her. "I must say, that is a rare specimen you've brought to my table. I don't know how you accomplished it, but I know a great many people who will pay… quite a price… for her, in her 'condition'."

 _[She's not for sale, so don't even try it.]_ He said instantly. _[You should already know that she's on 'our' side, so why would you even dare to ask that question to me?]_

"I'm only making a 'statement'." The man said just as calmly as before, though his grin had a chuckle to join it. "There are quite a few people who would 'love' to purchase her, I could give you a 'generous' bargain. But enough of such things… welcome to the Grey Market… how can I help you this fine day?"

" **Grey Market?"** Mercy hissed fearfully.

"Yep… the Grey Market, not the prettiest place to be, but this is where we sell some of our spare stuff." Hawkeye whispered as the Commander talked to their mysterious individual.

"I heard about this place from Eagleeye, supposedly XCOM dealt with the Grey Market back in the day as well, they used to sell alien tech during the first invasion to the various world nations for extra funds." Puppy whispered.

" **What do they buy here, and what do they sell?"** She asked them, not liking this place at all.

"Anything and everything, from junk to technical wonders, if you can find it, you can sell it, and if you want it, it's probably being sold here." Hawkeye said.

"Very well Commander, I'll inspect your contraband." The man said as he walked over to the first container that Puppy had been shuttling.

He opened the container, reached in, grabbed something, and pulled it out.

She instantly recognized it as a Viper's hand, one of her many sisters' hands. _***They… they sell… corpses?***_ She thought, horrified as the man examined the hand, nodded, and simply let it go before pulling out a Sectoid's hand now and examined 'it' next. _**"How can you… how can you just…?"**_

"Stand here and let them defile your friend's bodies?" Hawkeye asked quietly.

" _ **The others I don't care about… but my sisters… how can you just…?"**_

"We're not funded anymore, we're surviving by what the resistance gives us, and we're scavenging whatever we can get our hands on Mercy." Puppy said mournfully. "We aren't like we were in our glory days, when we had the resources of an entire planet helping us. We take what we can get, and make use with what we have at our disposal, these corpses are many, many months old, long before we even met you."

"As Puppy said, we do what we must to survive, no matter how grim it may be." Hawkeye said sourly. "I'm sorry you had to see this side of XCOM, this is why only Lieutenants are allowed to know this knowledge."

" **I can see…"** Mercy hissed sadly as the next container was opened, revealing special crystals used to power various Advent weapons, and even broken allows from a Sectopod Walker.

"I take it you don't like us anymore?" Hawkeye asked quietly.

" **No… it is not that… I just… can't believe you must do 'this' to survive."** She said sadly as the third case was opened, revealing more bodies, more Vipers and other various species, only this time the man made sure to examine the head of one.

The sight of her dead sisters made her realize even more, of how far away she was from Advent's minds. No doubt if she ever was captured by them again, she would end up just like these dead bodies, forgotten, cast away, and ignored…

It made her truly treasure now her life with the resistance, at least 'they' valued her life, even a little.

There was silence as he continued to examine what they had brought, before he took a pad and began punching numbers on it. "Very well… everything is in order… and we will sell to you based on our usual exchanges." He said with a pleased expression.

 _[I suppose it would be asking too much to give us a little more, especially for one of your most 'valued' customer…]_ The Commander said, but the man's response was only to grin even more. _[I figured as much… very well, then it's time for my other business. I require some intelligence…]_

"Such information is not given… cheaply… friend." He said as he put his fingertips together. "However… for some… interesting information that I have come across, I wouldn't mind selling to you… for a price."

 _[What's the price?]_ He asked quietly, and moments later the man handed him the pad he was tapping before. _[This is ridiculous… your reducing what you've agreed to sell us by 'half' for the Intel?]_

"The offer stands… take it or leave it…" He said with a smile.

" **I don't like him…"** Mercy hissed angrily.

"Don't say it out loud…" Hawkeye grunted.

"Give me five minutes with him, I'll 'negotiate' a better deal with him." Puppy growled as she cracked her knuckles.

The Commander looked at the pad, then back at the man, and sighed in frustration as he tapped it as well. _[Fine… even though I 'know' your robbing me blind, I'll take your offer over the static I've heard in the last three weeks.]_

The man nodded and took back the pad. "You'll find your supplies upstairs when you leave, a pleasure to do business as always." He declared. "Now you didn't hear this from me… but there have been some rather… interesting… signals and emanations coming from the Western Region of what 'was', the Western United States." He looked at the Commander, his grin back and even wider now. "Curiously, these signals have yet to be detected by the Advent Coalition… and have in fact… gone completely unnoticed by them. The energy signals have been detectable for a good… month now, yet Advent has not even shown the slightest notice to it… which is very intriguing considering 'where' they are coming 'from'. Very curious, isn't it, that 'we' can detect them and notice them as easily as if they were day and night, yet Advent doesn't notice them anymore than they do a speck of dust floating in their city?"

 _[And where exactly are these signals coming from?]_ The Commander asked.

Mercy watched as the man's grin grew even wider, exposing very yellow teeth with a shiny gold tooth as well, and she wondered how the human face could even contain such a grin. "You know as well as I do… that such information… has a price." He whispered.

 _[I get your point, unless we want to walk out of here with nothing 'but' information, we'd better be going.]_ The Commander grunted. _[I will see you another time, a pleasure doing business with you.]_

"And it is always a pleasure doing business with you!" He called out as he turned and left, beckoning them to follow him again. "Come back, the Market is always open!"

She heard the Commander grunt in response, before the door closed behind them and they made their way back up the staircase. Minutes later they found that outside, were two containers laden with materials and supplies, mostly munitions and armaments. After he checked the contents, they all made their way back through the marketplace toward the Avenger, and home.

(The Commander's PoV)

He floated into the command center and saw Central examining the globe with his headpiece as always, along with the rest of the bridge crew as always.

"Commander, Shen's going through inventory, I take it you found some decent items?" He asked as he entered.

 _[Nothing we couldn't have lived without, but enough of that, have we detected any signals or energy readings from anywhere along the western region of the United States area?]_

"Well, we have been detecting something but we didn't think much of it at the time Commander." He said as he brought up the globe again.

 _[Scan that area, now!]_ He declared. _[I received an intriguing tip just now, energy spikes from that area have been detected, and energy readings that while 'we' have detected, Advent seems to have not noticed for over a month.]_

"Sounds like something worth looking into…" Central said as they began scanning, and almost instantly they got a response. "Well now, there is something there alright."

He floated over and watched as the scan narrowed down toward a region somewhere in the western area, and as it became narrower, it began to center around one particular area that caught all of them off guard.

"You have to be kidding…" Central whispered as they saw it narrowed down to one location, where the signals and readings were coming from. "No way is Advent 'that' blind, this has to be a trick…"

 _[I can't believe my eyes… Gremlin's or my own…]_ He muttered just as quietly. _[How can Advent possibly be missing this, either they're blind, or they've gotten sloppy.]_

"Confirm the readings are accurate!" Central shouted as he brought up Shen now. "Shen, check the sensors, make sure they're working properly!"

 _{Central, the sensors were just checked two hours ago for routine maintenance, they're working perfectly.}_ Shen said.

"Confirmed sir, readings are accurate!" Someone on the bridge shouted.

Both he and Central looked at each other, and then back to the holographic globe at the location where the signals were originating.

 _[What of our resistance contacts, are there any traces of Advent activity in the region there?]_ He asked.

"Negative sir, not even a single patrol is in that area!" Someone else shouted.

"Scan that area for any contacts, I don't care how small, double check it again!" Central shouted back.

"Scanning sir…" A woman shouted, and moments later she gave her response. "Nothing sir, there's nothing in that area."

They both looked at each other again, and then back to the hologram.

 _[So it is true… Advent is unaware… completely unaware of what's happening there.]_

"Of all the places, who'd have believed it…?" Central said quietly. "If it's true, and there is something going on there, something Advent has no idea, maybe there's either other resistance forces there or perhaps something turned back on that we weren't aware of."

 _[Either way Central, we need to investigate it, there may be supplies that were left behind, supplies we sorely need.]_ He said back. _[Something is going on there Central, and we need to figure out what's going on. But even so, we could go there simply to see if there's anything we can salvage there. That place was big, certainly big enough that something was left behind or not noticed, surely 'something' of value that is there is worth salvaging.]_

"How ironic… we were forced to flee for our lives from there, and now we're going back to keep our organization alive." Central said, with almost the first trace of humor his voice ever cracked in years.

 _[It does seem the world has a sense of irony Central…]_ He answered. _[That the one place that seems to have escaped Advent's attention, is the one place where our fight for the old world ended.]_

He looked at the globe, at where it all began, where everything went downhill, where their organization to protect the world, turned into a band of guerilla freedom fighters.

 _[Central, set course for the Western North American region, prep the Skyranger for launch, and inform the sharks to be ready for weapon and armor refit. Also get Shen in the database and have her start digging up old schematics… while I dig up my old Access Codes.]_ He declared, still staring at the location. _[We're heading, for XCOM HQ…]_


	10. Chapter 10

{Incoming Transmission. . . Connection Established}

{Clearance Level 10 Established. . . Commander's Eyes Only Protocol Engaged . . .}

{Beginning Transmission . . .}

{EV NG S GO G AC PL PEPRE FR HVY RESISTANCE, POD WALKER TARGET IS LO TD WST AM.}

{FR T I WL ENE Y VICTORY}

{Transmission Terminated. . . Erasing Records . . .}

=Chapter 10, Ghosts of the Past=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"No way, you're saying 'we' get to go on the next mission?" Puppy asked excitedly as she and the other Sharks made their way down to the armory for weapon and armor refit. "Man, this is like so awesome!"

"I kinda figured you'd like it Puppy." Eagleeye said as he patted her head. "But just so you know, this won't be a weapon's fire mission like you think it might. It's a simply routine scouting and supply extraction mission."

"Who cares if there's no enemies to shoot at, okay maybe I do because I still want that promotion, but come on, this is XCOM HQ we're talking about here!" Puppy yelled. "Nobody's been to XCOM HQ since the evacuation, I've heard stories about that place from the survivors… or friends of the survivors at least, okay maybe they were more like speculations from people who 'said' they knew the survivors but…"

"We get it Puppy, you're excited!" Sharptooth said with a chuckle. "Calm down or you're going to have a puppy version of a heart attack."

"But how can you be so calm about this Sharptooth, this is XCOM HQ!" Puppy said, completely ignoring the advice to calm down. "I've heard that it was filled with a treasure trove of alien technology, weapons more advanced than anything mankind has ever created!"

"And whose been telling you all that?" Hawkeye said as they climbed the last staircase to the armory.

"Don't look at me, my lips are sealed." Eagleeye said with a thumbs up. "Commander ordered me to keep quiet about it years ago, and I aint telling anyone even after twenty five years."

"Oh come on grandpa!" Puppy whined again. "Tell us, is it true, is there really a souped up interrogation room that the Commander used to torture hundreds of aliens at a time for information?"

"Listen to the little girl, she got an imagination bigger than Blue Mountain Peak in my homeland!" T-Rex laughed out loud. "Ah what I would give to be her age again."

"I don't miss that age at all." Falcon said quietly.

"Ah pay no mind to Falcon, he's just sour that he just got a clean bill of health and has to go on a routinely boring mission!" Eagleeye chuckled, giving Puppy a thumbs up who gave him a thumbs up in return.

"At least 'I' take this mission seriously, no matter how mundane!" Falcon said quietly again, though with a hint of frustration.

Hawkeye shook his head in disbelief as they proceeded to the armory, trying not to chuckle as Eagleeye and Puppy shared a low 'high five' out of Falcon's eyesight. Minutes later they reached the armory, only to find the weapon's master and the Commander's Gremlin there with Mercy.

"Commander?" Sharptooth asked.

They both moved out of the way to reveal Mercy wearing new armor, compared to her old armor. Instead of the single piece flexible metallic plate that she had been forced to wear for the last few weeks, now she wore the same multipurpose Kevlar Armor, with the resistance XCOM logo imprinted on her shoulders and back. It stretched from the neck all the way down to her stomach region, right where her tail began. Along the back of her tail was a thin strap of Kevlar, with leather straps to keep it in place and allow her freedom of movement. Instead of her bare hood, she had a specialized helmet, with a thin layer of padding for her hood, which had an extension that could be lowered to allow her to see the same optical lens that they had for their helmets.

 _[About time Sharks, say hello to the new and improved 'Mercy Armor'.]_ The Commander said proudly.

"Looking good 'sister'." Sharptooth said with a thumbs up.

"Yea, not too shabby." Hawkeye said, admiring how Mercy looked in the resistance armor compared to her hold armor.

" **I thank you."** Mercy said with a smile. **"Shen finished modifying it yesterday."**

"Looks great on you!" Puppy said with another thumbs up. "Are you joining us as well on this mission?"

 _[We could use another pair of hands to carry any supplies we salvage.]_ The Commander said simply. _[That's why she's joining us as well, I can't risk the other two squads with them being shorthanded after all of these failed missions.]_

"So basically, 'we' get the fun job of picking up supplies?" Puppy said with a frown. "Come on Commander, as much as I want to go to XCOM HQ, isn't this job more for deck hands?"

"If the Commander says we're going, then we're going." Falcon said calmly. "You should not be so unhappy with your Commander's orders, it is our job to follow them despite our personal opinions."

 _[Puppy, I'll explain why when we're in transit, until then just get into your armor, grab your rifle, your two med kits, and you and the rest of the Land Sharks head to the Skyranger downstairs.]_ The Commander said.

"What, I'm still stuck with the same loadout?" Puppy complained as everyone walked past her to get their appointed loadouts.

 _[Don't make me repeat myself Puppy, or I'm assigning you to 'latrine duty', instead of going to XCOM HQ with me and the others.]_ He replied back calmly while floating away.

Once he was away Hawkeye watched Puppy walk over to the lady's side of the armory to get her loadout, although with the usual griping and groaning about how 'unfair' the Commander was assigning her promotion. "How does he expect me to get a confirmed kill when he only gives me this peashooter?" She said for the umpteenth time to them all.

"Keep it up and he'll give you a real peashooter Puppy." Eagleeye shouted as he fetched his Shredder.

"I keep telling you Puppy, just stay calm and let him work on getting your first kill." Hawkeye said.

"Oh, don't worry about the little Puppy, she's just barking to make up for her bite!" Sharptooth chuckled as he grabbed his Plasma Lance and shouldered it, grabbing his incendiary grenades as well.

Once he had his weapons he grabbed his last weapon, his trusty Fusion Blade that he always had because he was, after all, a Ranger, though he preferred his long range expertise, especially his pistol. Although he was trained to use it, he never really took it out of the locker, there was nothing he never had to deal with that his pistol couldn't handle. Afterword he finished fitting his Predator armor so it wouldn't shift around, while T-Rex adjusted his EXO Suit, and Falcon his own Predator Armor. Then he and the others walked out from the men's side and saw Puppy checking her sights on her rifle and Sharptooth cleaning her Arc Blade, though she was smiling at it proudly, as though it were her firstborn child.

"Do you really have to 'oil' your weapon Sharptooth?" He asked his fellow Ranger.

"Awww, you're just jealous that mommy likes to keep her baby close by." She said with a grin, sheathing her blade and checking her Plasma Rifle.

"I honestly can't see how you like that outdated piece of hardware." He commented. "At least 'my' blade doesn't need to be oiled up like yours, and can cut through armor that yours has trouble with."

"That's cause I like my blade just the way it is!" She said. "I like to get 'personal' with my prey, not to mention I love me a challenge like slicing through a Gatekeeper's armor." She chuckled.

"Oh yea, like you would even scratch it with that thing." He said.

(Mercy's PoV)

As the Sharks all armed themselves, Mercy examined her weapon as well, to replace the Plasma Rifle that 'used' to be hers. After the last mission she was on which involved the sharks, her old weapon had been broken down for components, though she didn't mind losing it. The new weapon she was carrying was the same assault rifle that Puppy uses, but unlike her weapon which had been modified with special upgrades, upgrades she herself found and added to make up for its outdatedness, the one she now was holding had no such upgrades.

As she examined it, she looked over at Puppy who was examining her weapon's sight, as well as the handle. **"What is this, XCOM HQ we are going to?"** She asked curiously, since none of the others were interested in talking about it.

"Well Mercy, I haven't any real clue about what XCOM HQ looked like, or where it was located, before I joined up with them a year ago." Puppy said as she grabbed ammo cartridges from a container, handing her a few as well. "All I know are rumors from what I've dug up on the resistance network."

" **Tell me."** She asked, very curious about the founding location of her ally's organization.

"Well… supposedly it's in a secret location, that nobody knows the real location of because it's impossible to find unless you 'know' where it is!" She said. "You can't detect it because they supposedly have a super powerful radar, which deflects any scans in its area of influence, and broadcasts fake signals and images to any satellites or aerial recon units. Any vehicles detected are instantly and mysteriously shut down, and 'towed away' by a conveniently passing by truck. Anyone who's lucky, or unlucky, enough to find the base is interrogated for what they know, how they found it, and are given the choice to either join the organization or are 'never seen again'. Anyone who joined back then, supposedly are also, never seen again, and their family records, everything down to their date and location of birth, is deleted from all records!"

Mercy went wide eyed as everyone began making their way toward the staircase to head to the landing pad where the Skyranger was. _***If they are that skilled at espionage and remaining unknown, how were they forced to abandon such a base?***_ She thought quietly.

"Oh man I can't wait to see the base, I heard that the buildings were equipped with super advanced technology, like cloaking devices, and turrets that perfectly can shoot the wings off a fly, and labs capable of examining anything from the human body to an amoeba in the span of seconds and…" Puppy continued to say as they headed for the Skyranger, going on about how XCOM had these incredibly rare and unbelievable technologies that not even Mercy could conceive of.

And she herself knew a fair portion of the technology employed by Advent.

(Hawkeye's PoV, Forty Minutes Later, aboard the Skyranger)

 _[Alright Sharks, we've got fifteen minutes before the drop point!]_ The Commander said as screen showed an image of Central. _[Prepare for debriefing. Central…]_

 _{Resistance scans detected several energy transmissions of unknown type at the location of the former XCOM HQ.}_ Central said as an image of a map of the region with the label –Restricted Area- at its center. _{As of right now, Advent hasn't gotten a whiff of whatever is going on here, and we believe that they don't have any clue that anything 'is' going on. So far Advent activity is zero in the area, not even a single patrol has been spotted or detected for the past month. Which is where 'we' come in…]_

 _[Thank you Central, now we're going in to secure as well as determine if any supplies are there, as well as what the readings are that we're scanning.]_ The Commander declared, floating in front of them. _[I won't lie to you, XCOM HQ hasn't been seen since we pulled out, there's no telling what we'll encounter down there, which is why we're going in armed 'Puppy'.]_ Everyone looked at Puppy as she sheepishly smiled. _[XCOM HQ was designed so we couldn't scan the interior of the base, and it seems that hasn't changed in all this time, so we're going in blind. Communications will be dark as well, so keep your coms open and report anything unusual you see. I can keep an open coms to my Gremlin, but that's all we can manage until you exit the base. Now there may be some weapons or even technology that we can salvage, so we're going to be picking up anything and everything salvageable, that 'I' deem worth salvaging… is that clear?]_

"Sir yes sir!" They all shouted together.

 _[Good, now are there any questions?]_ He asked now.

" **I have one… if you will answer it…?"** Mercy asked hesitantly. **"When you say 'deem worth salvaging'… what do you mean, what technology or weapons are not 'worth salvaging'?"**

At that everyone looked at the Commander, but he merely turned away as Central ended the transmission. _[That… will be answered… if we encounter anything that is 'not' worth salvaging, am I clear Mercy?]_ He said in an affirmative voice that said 'no more questions'.

" **Yes… sir."** She said quietly, looking down at the floor, a look of slight worry on her face.

Minutes later the light changed color to orange. {Alright, we're in the pipe, Five by five kiddies, saddle up and move on out! Tell grandma to bake some cookies for me when you see her!} The pilot said over the intercom.

 _[Alright Sharks, get ready for drop off!]_ He said, zooming forward toward the back.

Moments later as everyone stood up and readied themselves, the light changed green and the Skyranger came to a halt. Seconds after the back door opened up and revealed several ropes as usual, and instantly they all ran and slithered forward. He easily grabbed his rope and slid down, assuming a defensive stance while everyone slid down and into position. Mercy though, took a little longer again, as she still wasn't used to this procedure, and took two tries before she managed to grab a robe and slowly slide down. As she slid down, the Skyranger deployed four hover cargo containers for them.

Once that was done the Skyranger took off, and they all looked around and found themselves in the middle of what appeared to be an abandoned listening outpost in a desert location, with rock formations around it. The only buildings aside from the asphalt floor and broken down radio tower, was an empty wooden shack. There was barely a sound to be heard now, and the only sign of movement was a tumbleweed that just so happened to have sprung to life with the Skyranger's departure.

"Are we sure this is the right place?" Puppy asked quietly as they mounted their weapons, seeing no hostiles. "This is a dead zone, I was expecting XCOM HQ to be more… large and… technically advanced and… well… bigger."

" **This is the birth place of XCOM?"** Mercy asked, surprise evident in her voice. **"There is… nothing here."**

"Yea, I thought there'd be something here, this is just an old aerial research outpost for monitoring weather currents." Puppy said.

"Oh we're in the right place alright." Eagleeye said quietly. "This is XCOM HQ alright, nothing's really changed since we left here years ago. My only question is why are we here and not at the break in point Commander?"

 _[That section has collapsed Eagleeye, no way in that way, so we have to go through the launch pad.]_ He said as he ordered them to follow his path, which he was following in front of them. _[If I recall the entrance is right here.]_

"I don't see anything…" Puppy commented dully.

"Will you pipe down Puppy, we haven't entered the base yet, so just sit quiet like a good doggie." Sharptooth said.

"Ah don't be so mean Sharptooth, she's just eager is all, like an excited kid in a candy store on a Friday afternoon!" T-Rex chuckled.

They all continued to talk while they walked to the shack, Puppy and Mercy dragging the four containers behind them, both the Commander and Eagleeye looking around as if expecting something to happen. "Never thought I'd be back here Commander." He said over the coms, talking privately to him even though it was publicly said.

 _[Nor did I Eagleeye, nor did I.]_ The Commander replied.

As they finally reached the shack, the Commander ordered Eagleeye to enter with his Gremlin first, while the rest of the Sharks, including Mercy, assumed defensive positions covering the area.

Though why they were 'protecting' the area was really confusing to him, as other than the shack, the radio tower, and even the occasional rock along what 'used' to be a helipad, there was nothing to be seen for miles around. Other than a ridge far off to the side, far away from their position, there wasn't anything to protect against.

" **I did not expect your organization's birthplace to be so… barren."** Mercy whispered to him as she slithered next to him. **"Not that I mean any disrespect to you and the others. Still I must admit, I like this place better than the arctic region. Much warmer here… I can see why you would choose to build here instead of there."**

"You haven't seen anything Mercy, there's a reason why XCOM HQ remained hidden for as long as it did." He said back to her, chuckling as he remembered how snakes enjoy warmer environments.

"I'm in the system, surprised this hunk of junk computer still runs even after forty years." Eagleeye said over the coms. "It's requesting an access code Commander, do you want to take over?"

 _[My codes may be twenty five years old, but they should still carry some weight here.]_ He said, before his Gremlin floated next to Eagleeye's. _[One second… and…]_ There was a strange sound below them right as he said that. _[Open sesame…]_

They all turned and watched as the ground began shaking, and then a tear sixty feet wide began forming in the center. Then the ground itself began to shift, almost sliding aside, revealing a massively descending elevator which rose up from the ground.

" **You built your base, under the ground?"** Mercy asked, sounding thoroughly amazed.

Yet her words were silenced as the elevator rose up, carrying a vehicle on it.

They watched as the vehicle mounted on the elevator ascended with it, bearing signs of blast fire and rust, with sand piled around its landing wheels. The vehicle itself looked like a bird of prey, with wings outspread and hooked forward as if preparing to strike. Along its side were words along with a number.

 _=Raven Interceptor 2=_

"Wow, a Raven, looks like it's in okay condition Commander, at least from the outside." Eagleeye commented as he and the two Gremlins floated over to them.

"Whoaaaaaa." Puppy squealed as she looked at it. "It's a Raven V26 Interceptor Fighter, designed by Skylar industries and were never publicly built due to lack of funds!"

 _[You've been snooping around classified files again Puppy?]_ The Commander asked quietly.

"Uh… maybe?" Puppy said nervously.

 _[Well, your right about the fighter, but the lie about it being publicly built was a cover-up, we actually built two dozen of these things during the first invasion.]_ He said calmly. _[She's fast, maneuverable, but lacks firepower without additional armaments. This bird was retired after we researched the Firestorm, and this particular Raven was going to be scrapped… before…]_

They watched as the Commander shook himself, before ordering them onto the platform, with Mercy and Puppy dragging the containers behind them again.

 _[This thing is of no technical value, the Raven Interceptor 2 has no weapons, and its alloys are too old to be of use, even the onboard computer is too slow to be useable. We can't even break it down to melt for scraps. She was built when she was the pride of the skies, but now she's nothing more than a very oversized paperweight.]_

"Too bad, she looks like she'd be a joy to fly!" Puppy commented as the massive elevator began descending, rotating them as the door closed above them.

 _[From this point on, we won't be able to contact Central and the others.]_ The Commander said as internal lights began turning on when the doors closed above them, revealing a massive tunnel built entirely of concrete. _[This place was meant to shield itself from outside detection, no signals 'should' be radiating out, and that includes radio signals. So until we leave again, we're on our own unless that giant door opens up again.]_

As they descended they saw two empty alcoves pass by, followed quickly by a third with the number 2 on it. But as they leveled out alongside a platform, they found another alcove with the number 4, and this one had an occupant.

Inside the number 4 alcove, was another interceptor fighter, of similar build to the Raven, but obviously with traces of alien technology included. It looked similar to the Raven's predator design, but had far more elegance and curvature to its look.

 _[A Firestorm Model, designed after we acquired UFO blueprints, we built these to replace the Ravens we lost to more heavily armored UFO targets. She looks to be in good shape… I think we can send her to Central without it being detected. She runs on a similar Plasma Engine output that the UFO's run on, unless they look closely, she'll look just like another UFO at first glance.]_

"How do we send her?" Hawkeye asked.

In response Eagleeye and his Gremlin moved over to a control panel built on a dais, and punched in some commands. "I'm surprised this place still has power, I figured everything would be offline." He said quietly as everyone got off the platform, containers included.

 _[Yea… weird…]_ The Commander replied.

Moments later the platform rotated again, but this time only raising itself so it was level and pointed at the alcove with the number 2 on it. As they watched a ramp extended between the two, and metal clamps grabbed ahold of the old Raven, and squeakily dragged it back into its old nest, where it lay like a ghost resting in the remains of its former glory. Then the ramp retracted and the platform turned, descended, rotated, and a new ramp extended for the Firestorm's alcove. Metal clamps dragged the Firestorm out of its alcove this time, and moved it onto the main platform now.

"Alright I've programmed the onboard computer, surprised she's still running, and I've set her to rendezvous with the Avenger. She'll broadcast along the resistance network once she gets in range, I'm sure Shen will be eager to get at this old bird." Eagleeye said as he continued to punch in commands while the platform once again raised itself, but angling itself now so that it was on a parallel slant with the tunnel, which now opened up to reveal a massive ramp for the Firestorm. "Wish we could join her, it's a shame that her final flight will be to her own scrapping."

 _[She did her duty well for XCOM Eagleeye, she deserves to be retired this way. Her time is gone, now she's just a liability, and we could use the materials from her body more than her as a weapon.]_ The Commander said as they watched the plasma engines light up, shaking off every dirt and particle of dust attached to the main body.

Moments later it blasted off with a large gust of wind, yet the ramp only creaked as she took off, before closing up once again.

"Where to now Commander?" Eagleeye asked.

 _[Mission Control, it's the next room before we can reach the staircase down to the next level, where Engineering is.]_ He said as he ordered everyone to proceed with him.

As they walked from the Hanger and into a tunnel, they spotted a door which read 'Mission Control' on it, slightly ajar. Instantly everyone paused at seeing the door, and both Puppy and Mercy pulled out their rifles at seeing the hesitation.

 _[Door breach positions!]_ The Commander ordered, giving Hawkeye, Eagleeye, T-Rex, Falcon, and Sharptooth positions through their helmets while Puppy and Mercy were ordered to take positions next to the containers. _[On my signal…]_

Everyone got into position, weapons ready and T-Rex with a hand on the door. On the Commander's signal he pulled it open with a huge groan of both metal and man. Once it was opened enough for the containers to fit through, everyone at the door poured in and raised their weapons, aiming for anything that 'might be a threat'. All they were met with, was Sharptooth's horrified, "Oh… my…"

Hawkeye looked around and couldn't agree more, Mission Control looked like it had been hit hard, plasma burns and destroyed screens, damaged terminals and even downed lights. The centerpiece was a massive holographic display, depowered and damaged. Everything was illuminated by their helmet lights and gun mounted flashlights, as well as a single, barely functioning lightbulb. Yet it was the sight surrounding the center of the room, at various positions at their terminals, which caught their attention. Still in their uniforms, which bore marks of brutality like plasma burns and dried blood spots, were the burned and destroyed remains of human skeletons.

The only thing left of the people who once worked there.

"What happened here…?" T-Rex asked, just as shocked as Sharptooth sounded, when The Commander, Mercy, and Puppy came in once they saw the room was 'clear'.

 _[A massacre… that's what.]_ The Commander whispered as Puppy stared open mouthed, and Mercy looked in horror at the scene. _Once the perimeter guard fell and intruders breached our defenses, they stormed Mission Control and caught us off guard, I was in the middle of coordinating everyone's evacuation. The only thing I remember before I was knocked out, was seeing terminals falling around me…]_ He floated over toward one particular terminal, where a small badge and hat lay, as well as the dusty remains of a very large footprint.

Ash surrounded a hole in the wall, which exposed the next room, but only darkness lay beyond it.

 _[After that I heard a roar, and moments later a Muton came storming in, its weapon was raised and smacked me in the head with the butt of the weapon. After that… I was knocked unconscious…]_

"But what about these people, why didn't they evacuate?" Puppy asked incredulously. "What about the base's defenses, how could they storm you guys so easily?"

 _[They didn't storm us 'easily'… they had us completely surrounded, their forces pushed through our defensive positions and overwhelmed us with sheer numbers.]_ He answered her, and everyone could hear the sorrow in his digital voice. _[I and a few people remained here in the Mission Control to coordinate the defense, while also coordinating our evacuation plans. We were the last line of defense for everyone in the Hanger… I only hope those who were still there when we were stormed got out alive…]_

With that he ordered Puppy and Mercy to drag the containers again, and for everyone to proceed through the broken hole toward the next room.

Hawkeye kept his weapon mounted on his shoulder, looking around at the corpses in Central Command, and giving a silent prayer that their souls were resting in peace.

The next room was a pile of overturned boxes and makeshift barricades, but it was devoid of corpses at the very least. Burn marks and plasma shots served to remind everyone that, like in Mission Control, a battle took place here. As they walked through they could hear creaks and groans as the floor and roof bore their weights, as well as whatever was above them.

He swore that if it weren't for his fellow Sharks and Mercy's lights, he thought he'd seen a ghost or two in the shadows, lurking just out of sight.

Then all of a sudden, they passed by a raised platform and a light suddenly turned on, causing everyone to overreact and aim weapons frantically at the sudden light source.

Only Eagleeye and the Commander didn't react at seeing the light illuminate a massive wall with writing on it.

" **What is this place?"** Mercy hissed fearfully as she aimed at the wall, while the Commander floated closer to it.

There was silence before the Commander's claw extended and touched the wall, and there was even more sorrow in his voice as he spoke to them. _[This is the Memorial Wall… where all XCOM Operatives whose lives are lost in the line of duty are forever inscribed and memorialized.]_ He declared. _[Every single soldier that 'I' got killed, is inscribed here… every single one of them…]_

Eagleeye walked over and touched the wall as well with a solitary hand, his Gremlin casting a large light so they could see how 'large' the list was. It stretched from the very roof of the room, all the way to the base of the wall.

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy gazed at the massive memorial piece, and looked at the long list of names, going all the way from the top to almost reaching the bottom. There had to be at least a hundred, if not more, listed on the wall.

" **Why so many?"** She hissed nervously.

 _[Because back then I was inexperienced, our enemy was unknown, and I was trying so hard to protect 'everyone' everywhere, but our forces couldn't be everywhere at once. We were stretched thin, every time a new enemy appeared the rules changed, situations dissolved into battles that I was forced to 'improvise strategies' on the spot for. I sent operatives on solitary missions to counteract another organization that sought to destroy us, many of them died in the line of duty, others died because I was careless. And still… more died because I just was inexperienced…]_ He replied. _[It's one thing fighting an enemy you 'know, when both sides follow the same rulebook and used the same weaponry, it's another thing entirely when you don't know your opponent, and with each encounter you think you learn something about them, and they suddenly throw something new at you to change the game.]_

He took one final look at the wall, before ordering them to follow him toward the next room. In this room they saw yet another sight of a massacre, as the roof above had caved in, only adding to the once long fought battle in 'this' room. Across the room were downed pillars, crates, and other makeshift defensive positions.

Manning these positions were the remains of more human bodies, but unlike the Mission Control humans, these wore specialized armor, bulky and lined with various alloys, and wearing these suits of armor were the skeletal remains of humans.

On each Human body, totaling six, Mercy saw a strange badge with the image of an armored woman, carrying a sword in one hand and a shield in another, wearing a cape and riding atop a horse.

" **Soldiers?"** She asked Puppy, seeing the sight of fallen humans mourning to her, but made even sadder was the knowledge that their enemies left 'them' where they were.

It was obvious her former allies had only concerned with retrieving their own fallen, and not these pour souls. These humans had fought valiantly, and for their reward for dying a noble death, was to have their bodies left to rot underground, without anyone finding out that they were dead for decades.

"Yea… soldiers alright." Puppy said, wiping a tear from her face. "What's the badges stand for, medals of honor?"

"They're not medals, they're pins, and they're used to represent our squads, only 'we' stopped using pins." Eagleeye said sadly. "This is Valkyrie Squad, isn't it Commander?"

 _[Yea… it is…]_ He replied quietly, but she swore she could hear a great sorrow in his voice.

"Valkyrie Squad?" Sharptooth asked quietly, going over and examining the badge.

"Valkyrie Squad was a female only squad of XCOM Operatives, they fought as fierce as the legendary myths themselves, in total fifteen women during the old days obtained the honor of joining the Valkyrie Squad." Eagleeye said. "The squad was started when a trio of sisters joined XCOM, they ate together, slept together, and fought together. Eventually three more ladies joined them, and they gained the nickname 'Valkyries'."

 _[Valkyrie Squad became one of my most reliable squads, I sent them in on many missions, and one of their most frequent operations were Terror Attacks, when our enemy assaulted civilian targets. They fought harder than any other squad to rescue innocent civilians, caught up in something bigger than them.]_ He declared as they passed by a terminal, which barely lit up as they passed by.

Eagleeye walked over and his Gremlin hacked in, activating the terminal. "There's an active message here…" He declared, and seconds later a video recording began playing.

Mercy looked over and saw a woman's face, with dark skin and blue eyes, wearing grey armor and sporting a 'Valkyrie Squad' badge on her breastplate.

 **{** This is Natasha from Valkyrie Squad, enemy forces have broken through, we're trying to hold them… **}**

They could hear gunfire going on in the back, and Natasha suddenly turned and began firing at something out of sight. They heard roars and the screams as other female voices shouted, with fire raging in the background.

 **{** There are too many of them, we need reinforcements! Repeat, enemy forces have overrun Delta and Beta squads, they're trying to breach us and reach Mission Control. We can't hold out much longer, we need… **}**

More shouts and roars could be heard, and they now heard screams of pain and yells of rage mixed with the bullets now.

 **{** We've lost Jessica and Nora, Elizabeth and Tanya are critically wounded, I repeat, we need reinforcements if we're going to hold our position! **}**

The screen became flooded with plasma shots as Natashia ducked, returning fire from her weapon as she grimaced from the blasts of plasma shots.

 **{** We'll hold out for as long as we can, but we need reinforcements! Mission Control do you hear me, I repeat, this is Natasha from Valkyrie Squad… we need… **}**

 **{ Roaawer!** **}**

 **{** Get back… AH! **}** Natashia screamed as she ran past the terminal, firing frantically as a Muton came jumping past, a flash of plasma being shot from his weapon, before the terminal shut off.

Everyone stared at the screen, before they all turned to one of the corpses along the side of the wall, with the breastplate punched in and various plasma burns along the armor. The skull of the woman who was in that video had been bashed in heavily, with a part of the skull caved in and sporting a huge hole.

They were all silent as the Commander floated over and touched the breastplate of the fallen warrior. _[Good girls, you stood your ground and never abandoned each other, even in our organization's darkest hour…]_ He whispered proudly. [ _You fought for planet, people, and all life on this blue marble that we humans call home. Your mother Earth is proud of you girls, and she thanks you for your noble sacrifice, dying in battle, sacrificing your own lives in her defense.]_ With his declaration made, he reached over and pulled a piece of cloth that was lying on the floor next to the body, and draped it over the skull. _[Rest now in Valhalla you warrior women of XCOM, you who took on the name of the great and prideful Valkyries… you did your duty well, you may rest in peace now.]_

As one all of her human allies saluted, raising their hands up to their heads and standing perfectly straight. Feeling the need to honor these fallen soldiers as well, she straightened up her stance, and mirrored their action, taking her own hand and bringing it to just above her head. She looked down at the fallen female, and thought, _***They died as they lived, in battle… and they didn't flee from their comrades… or allies… like I did. They refused to surrender to fear, and even as death approached they fought to the last, with only the courage in their hearts… and strength in each other.***_

These humans who were once XCOM soldiers, were truly something that she didn't ever realize Earth had. Even though they were fighting forces beyond their belief, with weapons beyond their imagination, they stared death in the face and did not flee it. She admired this courage from them, and mourned the loss of the Valkyrie Squad even more because of it.

 _ ***At least they died together…***_ She thought one last time as the Commander ordered them to pick up their fallen weapons, telling them to leave the bodies alone.

As they picked up the fallen weapons, some of them damaged but otherwise still in working condition, she admired the craftsmanship on some of them. They resembled earlier Plasma Weapons used by the original invasion force, yet they each had their own modifications. One weapon had a specialized scope capable of zooming in on a target miles away. The one Puppy picked up had a special trigger that fired the weapon at a much faster rate with just the slightest motion.

"Now this is something I wouldn't mind using!" Puppy said as she held up a laser pistol. "Fully rechargeable, fires off fifteen rounds before needing a recharge, a special muzzle for longer range and even a stronger grip to prevent recoil! Now this is a weapon!"

"You mean this is an 'outdated' weapon." Sharptooth called out as she tossed a laser cannon into one of the containers. "These things are completely old, not to mention clunky, our magnetic weaponry is far more effective and far more streamlined then these hunks of junk. My slugthrower may require ammo, but at least it's more reliable than these things!"

"I wouldn't say that if you never tried one of these bad boys." Eagleeye said as he tossed another weapon into the same container. "These things gave our enemies hell back in the day, and while we still needed to recharge em, they sure packed a punch! We're talking a classic gun here Sharptooth."

Once they all picked up what weapons they could from the floor, without touching the bodies as per the Commander's orders, Puppy and Mercy pulled the four containers and followed the sharks and Commander into the next part of the base, the staircase. They followed down the staircase and to the next level, using their weapons lights as much as their helmets to light the way.

Every time Mercy rounded the corner, she thought she saw shadows behind her, and with each passing second she thought she could hear voices and whispers. _***This place… why do I feel like I don't belong here?***_ She thought nervously, not understanding why she was feeling so nervous in an abandoned base.

When she voiced her concern, Puppy responded with only a nod, only able to talk back over the coms. "This place is haunted Mercy… not by real ghosts, but haunted nonetheless." She said quietly. "XCOM fought for their lives here, in a last desperate battle to protect our world from invasion and conquest, and it was a fight we lost. You coming here probably makes this place even worse, because even though you're on 'our' side now, your still not one of 'us'…"

She glanced over her shoulder, eyeing the darkness behind her, unable to see anything outside of her pillar of light that her helmet gave off. _***Even the humans of XCOM's past, don't trust me, nor do they welcome me…"**_ She thought mournfully.

As the staircase ended on the next level, she saw that they were blocked from proceeding further down because the floor had collapsed, with rubble blocking the path down. Instead the Commander had Hawkeye open the next door, and they filed in, looking around with their rifles' lights. The next room was obvious to all of them, as portions of the walls were destroyed, exposing overturned bunk beds and living quarters for soldiers. They had arrived at the Barracks, but they had also found themselves in the room of yet, another massacre.

She could see the numerous bodies littering the floor, some of them with portions of their bodies shot off and even partially vaporized. More and more bodies were revealed, and the brutality of the attack became apparent to Mercy, as she saw both soldier and 'civilian' humans around the room.

"Ugh… gh… uurug…" Puppy moaned as she covered her mouth and ran back into the staircase.

Seconds later they heard her expelling whatever it was she had in her stomach and onto the concrete floor.

"This is horrible…" T-Rex said as the Commander ordered them to pick up any weapons or materials that looked 'salvageable.

"This isn't even the worst…" Eagleeye said quietly. "It only gets even worse from here on out."

"Who are they Commander?" Sharptooth asked as the Commander flew over to one of the bodies, and looked at the pin.

 _[Delta and Beta squads, the two squads who most people joined and left as rookies and squaddies… they were always the most casual bunch, but when push came to shove, they were just as dependable as any other squad.]_ He declared as Puppy walked back into the room, wiping her mouth of something. _[Keep moving everyone, one of the storage rooms is up ahead, if you see any weapons on the ground pick them up and add them to the containers. And remember… respect the fallen…]_

They nodded in understanding and began following him, moving slowly to examine any fallen weaponry or materials as they did. However as Mercy picked up a fallen rifle, she saw a human XCOM soldier in a sitting position, but this one's skeleton was different from the others.

The bones were a little whiter compared to the other ones, and even though the skull bore cracks and fractures, they looked to be… healing. **"Commander!"** She declared, drawing his attention to the body, which had the pin of an animal that she didn't recognize. **"What is this?"**

She pointed at the bones, and the Commander responded by ordering everyone over to them. _[This is Victor Von Stuben, a member of Wolf Squad… ninth self-appointed 'Warden Wolf' of XCOM.]_ He declared sadly.

"Warden Wolf, and how do you know his name, I don't see a nametag anywhere?" Puppy asked.

 _[I remember every single soldier that died and served under me, especially those in the specialized squads I formed. The Warden Wolves of XCOM, Wolf Squad, was one of 'those' kinds of squads Puppy, upon forming they started their own squad religion. Like the Valkyrie Squad they lived by a code of honor, only instead of being only females allowed to join, Wolf Squad was renowned for their dedication to protecting Earth under any condition. They went above and beyond to protect our planet from assault, willing to do whatever it took to protect it, and willing to pay whatever price to ensure humanity's continued survival.]_

He picked up the pin and turned it around, revealing three words inscribed on it.

=Custodi Protectatores Terrae=

 _[Earth's Warden Protectors… every member of Wolf Squad declared themselves the protectors of Earth, no matter who her enemy may be.]_ He said to them. _[The Wolf Squad were self-appointed protectors of the Earth, protecting it against XCOM's enemies, and while they might have been a bit, overenthusiastic with their squad code, they certainly did their job well. But the wolves of Wolf Squad did more than that… they sacrificed their humanity to fight for our cause.]_

" **Their… humanity?"** Mercy asked quietly.

He nodded and pointed at the cracks in his skull, which though existed, were as smooth as if they were meant to be there. _[Each and every member of Wolf Squad, are genetically modified soldiers. Each of them received special genetic modifications to their bodies. Victor here, received an adaptive bone barrow, which though was classified to the legs, really worked for the entire skeleton. Unfortunately before he could receive any new gene modifications, we were attacked and…]_

" **Gene modifications, but I thought your XCOM despised gene therapy?"** Mercy asked, now extremely confused as to why her allies were contradicting their ideals and beliefs.

 _[Back then, it was a different fight, under different circumstances, and I was willing to use any and every weapon at my disposal to achieve victory Mercy.]_ He said quietly. _[Every member of XCOM who underwent the genetic modifications became super soldiers, increased strength, mental prowess, depth perception, you name it we discovered it… and adapted it. But it was a procedure only a selected group went through, as every single person who became enhanced, lost their humanity in exchange… they were never seen as 'human' again. Those were desperate times, our enemies advanced and deployed ever more powerful weapons against us… I needed every possible advantage I could get just to even the odds…]_

There was silence as she dared to ask the real important question to her, the one that she knew would determine her stance toward her new Commander. **"Did you… force them to… undergo this procedure?"** She asked.

 _[Every single genetically modified soldier was a volunteer, I never forced anyone to undergo the procedure… not one of them. They made the sacrifice for the betterment of protecting mankind…]_

Mercy heard him sigh sadly and placed the pin back on the fallen soldier's corpse, and just like with the Valkyrie corpse he found a piece of cloth, placed it over the body's skull, and everyone saluted.

 _[Thank you, Wolves of XCOM, your sacrifices weren't in vain, though I wish it had ended differently, you wolves died in battle defending Earth as much as anyone else. Mother Earth thanks you, and so do I.]_

After a moment of silence to respect the fallen soldiers once again, they proceeded as before, gathering fallen weapons, various damaged upgrades, all the while avoiding the oens that were still attached to their owner's corpses. As they neared the entrance to the next room, with Mercy and Puppy still pulling the containers behind him, Mercy was the first to spot something enormous in front of them.

Instantly everyone raised their weapons and aimed their flashlights at what appeared to be a giant, mechanical unit, as large as the room and holding a massive weapon in one mechanical arm. But what shocked everyone, especially her, was that in the center of the mechanical body, was a human skeleton, and with mechanical parts attached to the arms and legs.

It looked as though the bones and machinery had been melded together at the molecular level, something that she thought only Advent possessed the technical knowledge to accomplish.

"What is that thing?" Puppy asked incredulously.

 _[That would be Yin Lang, MEC trooper, and member of Squad Falcon.]_ He declared, floating over and examining a large metallic pin in the shape of a bird that was attached to the metal frame. _[Another of XCOM's secrets… human soldiers, melded with machinery, enhancing their combat performance. But just like our genetically modified soldiers, these souls who underwent the operation, lost their humanity in the process as well, but at a more personal level. They became just as much robotic as they were organic… Yin Lang was one of our oldest MEC soldiers, and one of our first… I still remember asking him if he was sure he wanted to undergo the procedure.]_

" **Just how many… is there no limit to how far you went?"** Mercy asked incredulously, astonished that her allies were willing to go 'this' far against their enemies.

"You have to understand Mercy… the Commander was under enormous pressure, even more than you can imagine." Eagleeye said as the Commander continued to look at the MEC soldier's body. "XCOM's motto may be Vigilo Confido, but our directive is to survive at any cost. We would meet our enemy in the field, we would defeat our adversary in battle, and we'd take what was theirs and make it our own. The Commander didn't like making these decisions, but he was put in charge, he made the choice, and he…"

 _[Enough Eagleeye… I can defend myself, thank you.]_ The Commander said suddenly, silencing everyone. _[Falcon Squad was just like Wolf and Valkyrie Squad, they had their own motto and creed that they lived by. For Falcon Squad, they were crusaders and warriors, they were the first ones into a hot spot, and the last to leave alive… to that end, just like Wolf Squad, every member of Falcon Squad was an MEC soldier, and I often made teams that included one or two of the Falcons. Only for the most aggressive and dangerous assignments did I assign the entire Falcon Squad to a mission. One single MEC soldier could take on multiple enemies, they hit hard, carried the heaviest equipment, and were often the bravest of anyone in XCOM.]_

"Yea… to volunteer to have your limbs chopped off like that, anyone would need to be braver than anyone else…" Sharptooth whispered as they stared at the remains.

Once again the Commander extended his claw and placed it on the fallen soldier's body. _[Forgive me, I wish I could have been there when you died… no soldier deserves to be abandoned by their superior officer like this… I should have been there when you died.]_ He said mournfully. _[All I can say is, rest now warrior of Falcon Squad. You have fulfilled your duty to your planet, and that is all anyone can ask of you.]_

Mercy repeated her gesture again, and with the Sharks, saluted the fallen soldier once again, respecting this once proud XCOM operative that had died in the line of duty.

 _[Come Sharks… let's go… we've lingered here long enough.]_

As they walked and passed into the next room, obviously a munitions storage room just as the Commander said. Scattered around were various sized containers, each partially locked. But as she examined the first one, it was easy enough to break open. What she found inside could only be described in the words Puppy yelled enthusiastically seconds later as she opened her own container.

"Jackpot!" She screamed, pulling out a massive Plasma Cannon that was barely bigger than her. "Now this is a weapon's cache that I can like!"

"Your telling me little one, look at all these goodies!" T-Rex yelled back as he juggled Plasma Grenades and old Battle Scanners, before tossing them into the containers as well. "We got enough bang for our buck in just this box, and we didn't even have to pay a dollar!"

"Oh yea… look at this bad boy!" Sharptooth cried as she held up a really large plasma sniper rifle. "Now 'this' is a weapon I don't mind not using, the craftsmanship, the angular design, and its completely upgraded with all of the cool stuff you could want! It's almost a shame that this thing was never fired!"

" **What is this thing?"** Mercy asked as she pulled out some kind of oversized rifle with yellow attachments running along its front.

"That's an Alloy Cannon, nasty piece of work our boys in engineering came out with." Eagleeye said. "That thing's one heck of a shotgun, can rip a Muton apart in one shot if aimed at close range."

"Hey T-Rex, I found your new drinking buddy!" Hawkeye shouted as he pulled out a massive plasma weapon almost twice the size of the rifles they found earlier.

"Now that there's a Heavy Plasma gun, a really powerful machine gun weapon on par with your Beam Cannon." Eagleeye said as Hawkeye handed him the gun.

"Oh… this baby and I could make some sweet music together…" T-Rex said, holding the rifle as though it were a precious item and looking at it lovingly. "I think I'll name you Julie…"

" **Why do they talk about their weapons like they are real?"** Mercy asked Puppy as she handed her another rifle to put in the container.

"Eh, it's a human thing, get used to it." She said with a shrug. "Personally, I'd name mine Romeo."

"Sharks… I've found something." Falcon whispered over the coms, and everyone turned on their optical lenses to see what Falcon saw.

They all some kind of vehicle, half the height of an adult and almost just as long. On the side of it were the letters S.H.I.V. 7-H.

 _[A SHIV… well now, we gata take that thing back with us. Looks to be in good shape too.]_ The Commander commented as he floated over and examined it with Falcon.

"What's a SHIV?" Sharptooth asked.

"Weapon's Platform, stands for Super Human Infantry Vehicle, we used to use them in place of soldiers for situations that were too dangerous to risk lives. We had a lot of wounded soldiers in Med Bay during the old war." Eagleeye said instantly. "They could take a beating, and this model could hover over terrain and even fly."

"Oh… now aint that a crying shame." T-Rex chuckled. "That little thing has been caged up down here all these years, when she deserves to run free in the wild!"

While everyone chuckled, except Mercy and Falcon, Falcon turned on the vehicle and guided it over to one of the empty containers, and slowly it levitated up and into the container, taking up most of the space.

As Mercy examined the next firearm she found, a Plasma Pistol she saw that this one had a scope on it, a strange scope that once turned on, she saw could see heat signatures. Curious, she raised it to her eye and looked through it, but suddenly went stiff as she saw through it.

There, standing no more than ten feet in front of her, was something humanoid.

But what shocked her most, was that while one eye was looking through the heat sensing scope of the pistol, the other eye was not and looking at the exact same location.

Yet 'that' eye could not see anything that her helmet light was revealing, besides a bare rock wall.

As she watched the heat signature moved just ever so slightly forward, and raise something in one of its arms up to its head, as if it were talking to a communicator.

" **Commander…"** She hissed as quietly as she could, pretending that she didn't notice as she continued to examine the pistol, but not taking her eyes off of what she had seen.

 _[Yes Mercy?]_ He asked over the coms.

" **Tell me there is someone in front of my current position… like Puppy or T-Rex."** She whispered as she turned on the pistol again, once she confirmed that none of the other Sharks were nearby.

 _[No... why do you ask?]_ He asked quietly.

" **Because… we're not alone here…"** She hissed even more quietly, confirming that the heat signature was still there.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

As slowly and quietly as he could, he and the other Sharks began to reach for their weapons, while the Commander ordered T-Rex to take one of the Battle Scanners that he found in one of the containers. Moments later, when they all had their fingers on their weapons, he ordered T-Rex to toss the scanner where Mercy reported the heat signature.

Instantly they all turned as T-Rex tossed the metal sphere, and it let out a small electrical signal, and right where Mercy had said, something that was 'cloaked' became visible to all of their optical lenses.

They all saw a tall human, an extremely tall and 'thin' human, wearing a suit and dark sunglasses observing them.

"A Thin Man?" Eagleeye exclaimed instantly.

" **Hyeeeeh!"** The Thin Man hissed loudly, before reaching into his suit and grabbing something.

 _[Open Fire!]_ The Commander yelled.

Instantly all of the Sharks opened fire on the solitary Thin Man, but just as he was riddled with plasma shots and even bullets from Puppy's weapon, he threw something toward them that looked like a grenade.

As he hit the ground heavily and exploded into a cloud of poisonous gas, another Thin Man appeared in the doorway behind the previous Thin Man, pulled out a Plasma Rifle, and open fired on the spherical object that he had just thrown at them.

The object exploded into a mass of electrical plasma energy, which encompassed all of them, and as it did several loud beeps and powering down sounds occurred. As it touched the two Gremlins, Hawkeye's Gremlin crackled with electrical surges before falling to the ground, but the Commander's Gremlin activated its shield before it was touched.

 _[Return fire!]_ The Commander yelled.

But as he and the other sharks tried to return fire, his weapon refused to respond to the trigger. In confusion he looked at the power cell and saw that it had been drained to zero. Panicking he reached into his belt and grabbed another case of Plasma Rounds, but the rounds were all depowered and useless. Not even his Fusion Blade or Plasma Pistol were working properly as he examined them both now.

"My weapon's not working!" Sharptooth yelled.

"Neither is mine!" T-Rex shouted.

"Mine is dead too!" Falcon said.

"Same here!" Eagleeye screamed, as he and the others tried desperately to get their weapons to fire again.

"Mine's working fine!" Puppy yelled.

" **As is mine!"** Mercy also shouted.

 _[Open fire on the Thin Man, now!]_ The Commander ordered again.

But just as Puppy and Mercy tried to obey, the Thin Man who was standing in the cloud of poison gas shot himself while grinning. As he did he too exploded into another poisonous cloud of toxins.

"What in the name of… what is going on here?" Puppy yelled as she frantically aimed her weapon in random directions. "What was that thing?"

"A Thin Man, one of the alien foes we fought against over twenty five years ago!" Eagleeye shouted as he tried to get his weapon working again.

"Why the heck did he look like a human, why did he explode like that, what the hell is going on here?" She asked now, panicking even more as she turned to talk to Eagle now. "That thing acted like a Viper, that cloud of toxin is the same Vipers release upon being killed! What the heck is going on here?"

" **Thin Man… that is what my species used to look like when we infiltrated Earth many years ago!"** Mercy hissed nervously as she too aimed her weapon in random directions, trying to look for a target in self-defense. **"I remember… we were heavily modified to look 'human'… but I thought all of the Thin Men Vipers had been returned to normal…"**

 _[It seems we were wrong… and we're not alone in this base.]_ The Commander whispered to them all as he floated closer to the toxin cloud and examined it. _[Something is weird about this cloud of toxins… it's not dissipating, in fact its growing. And those Thin Man Bodies… they looked similar to what we faced, almost exactly, but… they were slightly different. They looked taller…]_

 **{How very observant you are Commander.}** A female voice hissed loudly over some sort of Intercom, and suddenly a video screen planted on the wall turned on.

They all suddenly turned to see the video image of the Hierarch Mother, grinning widely as she sat in the shadows, with a light behind her just barely illuminating her enough to see them.

 _[You…]_ The Commander hissed angrily as he floated before the screen.

 **{It is me Commander, your ever devoted 'student' in the art of war.}** She hissed warmly. **{I am pleased to see that you have arrived… on time.}**

Hawkeye couldn't see front of The Commander's Gremlin, but he knew that if the Commander had a face which could express emotions, it would be one seething with hatred. _[You forced us to come here, you ambushed all of my operations, and you located our supplies and cut us off from our targeted raiding parties to prevent us from gaining materials. You deliberately forced me into a corner so that I would have no choice but to come here, knowing I would take any chance to gain supplies! This was nothing but a massive set up, for one big trap, which 'YOU' set up!]_

Almost lovingly and proudly, the Hierarch Mother nodded in admittance, still not losing the grin on her face. **{All thanks to 'you'… there is nothing I have learned, that you didn't teach me.}** She said warmly. **{Isn't it a brilliant plan? Destroy your supply lines… and drive you into a position that I myself controlled right from the start?}**

 _[The signal emanations, the energy signals resistance forces detected… you created them all?]_ He asked furiously. _[You set it up so that Advent looked like it couldn't detect these signals, and because XCOM HQ is built in a location that prevents it from being scanned, the only thing we could see were strange readings. You made it so that no Advent presence was in the area for over a month, but you were secretly hiding a force here the entire time, waiting for me and my forces to enter so you could catch us off guard, when we're at our weakest and most vulnerable!]_

The rage coming from the Commander's voice was unbelievable, Hawkeye was surprised that the Gremlin simply didn't explode from his rage. Yet still the Commander continued to vent at the screen, completely unconcerned with the fact that his own forces were watching him.

 _[Then once we were all gathered into a tight location, our attention diverted from our surroundings, you deploy some kind of device that disables our weapons, effectively leaving us vulnerable to whatever it is you have hidden down here. And you even modified some of your forces so that the toxic cloud they released won't go away, ensuring that we have no escape without wishing to suffer some unknown poison that we might not be able to cure. You know full well that I wouldn't risk the lives of my forces, upon noticing the difference in my enemy compared to twenty five years ago!]_

Once more the Hierarch Mother nodded proudly, still not losing the look of adoration she had when talking to the Commander. **{You truly are a 'genius' my Commander… just as I read your every move the moment you made yourself known, you spotted my plan the instant I revealed myself.}** She said. **{Given the situation Commander, it would be best if you surrendered… but knowing you… you will not… so I will reveal a surprise I've been saving here, just for you.}**

The screen changed and revealed three rooms, each with equipment that Hawkeye couldn't recognize at first glance, but he saw the rooms were massive.

 **{I must thank you for the room your forces made here in the past… it has boosted the production of my 'cloned forces' greatly. The Thin Man you so eloquently killed were mere clones… and as such, they were destined to die. But before they did… they trapped you there… that cloud of toxins is indeed, something I created that you have no cure for… and it won't disappear for many hours, and long before it does your position will be overrun as my 'army' continues to assault you.}**

 **{That is… unless you want to fight your way down to one of the lower reactors, and turn on the ventilation system to clear your path.}** She hissed happily. **{Of course if you do, you'll have to fight your way through your own past… as my legion of clones and robotic units, pour from the cloning vats and engineering bay we have operating here! But can you do it with no weapons?}** Once more the screen returned to the Hierarch Mother, and she stared at him with a grin again on her face. **{The same forces that you would consider 'outdated', that you once thought fearsome but now view as pathetic… will be the same forces that will eventually kill your soldiers now! You once said that back then it was a 'different time'… well now we get to relieve those days, right here… in your own HQ my mentor. Oh but wait, you can't use your own little machine to fly and give your troops the necessary information they need to survive. Even with your meagre knowledge of the layout, you have no idea what my forces have done… you could be walking right into 'another trap'… and not even realize it.}**

He growled in frustration as she grinned back at him, neither one so much as shifting their focus even a little.

Then almost subtly, Hawkeye noticed out of the corner of his eye, a small red light from a camera. It turned ever so slightly to glance at the Commander, and through his helmet mounted optical lens the Commander saw it as well.

 _[Then we'll fight as we did in the old days…]_ He boasted. _[The Cameras in this base are still functioning, and while you may have locked me out of the system, not even 'you' can keep the XCOM Commander out of his cameras' systems.]_

She smiled even wider as he said that. **{Nor do I want to… because even as you look through your cameras' sights, so too will I be able to see what you see, just as you'll see what I see.}** She hissed with a trace of enthusiasm that seemed way misplaced. **{Oh how it pales to us being linked through the psionic network Commander… but to see what you see, is all the 'pleasure' I need. Simply reveling in the challenge of facing you in a battle of strategy, is worth all the effort it took to trap you down here.}** She leaned forward and seemed to gaze solely at him. **{But be warned… unless you hide your machine, my forces will target it, and destroy it instantly. I know it is 'protected' by an energy field… but you'll find it too was disabled, along with your weapons. So unless you wish to lose your operatives and let them walk blind… I suggest you find a hiding spot, while your 'cameras' become your eyes.}**

 _[Thanks for the 'advice', but I suggest 'you' find a hiding spot you snake… because once we find 'you', you and I are going to have a nice loooong conversation.]_ He said with a hint of loathing.

 **{Oh… I can't wait…}** She hissed with a trace interest. **{Well Commander… the time has come… the board is set and the pieces are moving, let us begin. I thoroughly enjoy this… once again… your enemy is 'unknown'… and 'within' your own base. Can you reach the only means of escape, without the weapons that you rely so heavily on, while also being hunted and targeted by the foes you once fought against but are no longer the same as they were? I can't wait to find out.}** As she finished her declaration she began chuckling, almost maniacally. **{Hehehe, hahahahah, HAHAHAHAHAH!}**

Then the screen turned off.

As one they all looked at the Commander and he looked at them.

"Commander… what are you thinking?" Sharptooth asked incredulously. "I know you have a grudge against her, who wouldn't, but we have 'nothing'! No weapons, no grenades, not even basic pistols! The only thing we have are Puppy's and Mercy's conventional rifles, and what good are those things in this position?"

 _[We have no choice Sharptooth… if we don't find a way down to that reactor and turn on the ventilation system, we'll be overrun here, we need to fight our way down there and turn it on.]_

"But what about the supplies?" T-Rex asked. "You can't just expect us to leave them."

 _[No, we take them with us, we can't lose anything or risk losing anything.]_ He declared. _[We'll continue to pick up materials and supplies along the way down, fighting our way through. Once we secure our escape route, we'll push our way back and call for the Evac.]_

"You're forgetting one thing Commander, we have no weapons." Falcon said calmly, pulling out his Psi Amp and checking to see if 'it' was working, which it was at least.

In response The Commander looked at the container that Eagleeye was reaching into at that exact moment. _[What are you talking about, we have all the weapons we need…]_ He said, as Eagleeye pulled out some of the weapons they recovered and began tossing them to the other Sharks. _[Now… I'm going to enter the ventilation system, it's the safest place for my Gremlin, and if I lose my Gremlin then I lose all contact with you guys. If you guys are killed down here, then all of our hopes for fighting Advent are lost with you.]_ With that he floated over to a wall which he lit up with his light, revealing a vent that he opened with his claw. _[Arm up Sharks, we have work to do!]_

With that he flew into the vent and closed it behind him, and suddenly their optical lenses changed to show what he was seeing, which were them through the cameras in the room.

"Can't believe we have to use this outdated hardware." Sharptooth complained as she examined her Laser Sniper Rifle, the same rifle that she had so eloquently admired earlier with all of the hardware attachments.

"It's as he said, use what we've got." Eagleeye said calmly.

" **Why did the Hierarch Mother leave these weapons untouched, but not our normal weapons?"** Mercy asked as she examined her weapon while Puppy tried, and failed, to get her hands on one of the laser weapons as well.

"To make it a challenge I guess, she wants the playing field to be even." Hawkeeye said. "If she's throwing outdated forces and mechanical units at us, using the same technology that they used when we fought them, then she would no doubt forces us to use the same tech we used back then as well."

"Well… then I hope this stuff lives up to its reputation as you said it did 'Grandpa'." T-Rex said, as he held the weight of the Alloy Cannon he had picked up before.

"Same here." Hawkeye said as he checked his own Laser Sniper Rifle, and saw it had a full charge.

"Oh it will, believe me it will!" Eagleeye said proudly. "Just like the old days Commander."

 _[Just like the old days.]_ The Commander replied, as he gave them orders to position themselves, while Puppy complained again about her loadout.

"Come on, all of these weapons I could use, and you STILL won't let me touch anything besides the two med kits, and rifle?" Puppy moaned. "Why couldn't the Hierarch Mother disable my weapon as well?"

"Because it doesn't run on Plasma!" Everyone shouted in unison.


	11. Chapter 11

=Authors notes: Please play the appropriately named music to get the most of these scenes=

{Incoming Emergency Priority One transmission . . .}

{. . . Connection Failed . . .}

{. . . Attempting to establish connection . . .}

{. . . Attempt failed . . .}

{. . . Unable to establish a stable connection . . .}

=Chapter 11, Reliving the Struggle=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"So can someone tell me why I'm the one stuck lugging around the containers?" Puppy asked as she took up a position near the rear of the squad.

"Because that's what the Commander wants you to do." Falcon said quietly.

As everyone had gotten into position, the Commander ordered them to lock the containers together using their magnetic locks, and to tie one lock to Puppy via a rope they found so that she could pull the containers behind her, without her losing her ability to fight. Since the cargo containers moved on hover pads, she could drag all four of them despite each weighing over twice her bodyweight. The only downside was that she was a walking target because she couldn't run, but it was the only way they could transport all of the supplies they'd found without slowing down four of the Sharks.

After they'd finished they each took up a position before the entrance to the next room, another storage room.

 _[Alright Sharks, get ready for orders.]_ The Commander declared over the coms. _[Puppy, move to grid C-4.]_

"You're sending me first?" Puppy asked. "Alright… if you say so."

Hawkeye watched as Puppy slow marched forward, her weapon at the ready as she walked past him and the others and into the next room. Moments later they switched to what she was viewing and saw here scanning an empty room, with a two sided elevator that opened up on their side across from her position. The room though contained several weapon's supply boxes and munitions containers, each of which were marked accordingly. She also noticed several cameras in the room, all of which were recording and watching the room, turning to watch Puppy as she entered.

"All clear!" Puppy declared.

 _[Good, proceed to K-4 then H-8 now, the containers are blocking the door, and you'll have to move forward more before the other Sharks can get past.]_ He said.

"Lovely…" Puppy said as she moved as indicated, dragging the containers behind her so that the path was cleared for the other Sharks.

 _[Alright, Hawkeye dash to grid L-7, Sharptooth dash to P-6, T-Rex to F-4, Falcon to A-8, Eagleeye to O-5 and Mercy to G-5.]_ He said now, and on each of their individual lenses were highlight grids and different colored paths that they each were to take.

"Roger that." He said.

"Moving out!" Sharptooth whispered.

"Over." T-Rex called.

"Understood." Falcon said.

"Going." Eagleeye whispered.

" **As you say."** Mercy hissed.

One by one they filed through the door to their assigned positions, each aiming in a different direction while Puppy watched the door to the elevator.

 _[Alright, see what you can find in those containers Sharks, if you find anything worth salvaging, dump it into the containers.]_ He declared. _[This may have changed to a weapon's fire mission, but we still are on a resupply mission. Puppy, watch that door while the others investigate the contents of the containers.]_

"Got it." Puppy whispered as he and the others began investigating the contents of the boxes and containers.

All the while the cameras continued to watch them.

"Why do I have the feeling we're being watched?" Hawkeye whispered to the other sharks as quietly as he could.

 _[Because you are being watched.]_ The Commander replied instantly. _[The Hierarch Mother is using the cameras to watch your every movement, just as I am. There's nothing to be done about it, all we can do is keep our coms as quiet as we can, and minimize the information she gains from us.]_

After a few moments of examining the various containers, they discovered another pair of laser weapons, as well as various plasma rounds and grenades, as well as other upgrades and additions for weapons. Once they placed everything into the containers, they were each ordered near the elevator door in door breach positions, with Sharptooth and Hawkeye using their weapon's range to cover it with Puppy while the others stood on either side.

 _[Alright, open the elevator door, quietly Eagleeye.]_ The Commander ordered.

Eagleeye nodded and touched the panel to open the elevator. It opened up with a slow hiss, and everyone braced themselves for an engagement, but as Hawkeye saw it was completely empty, with the other side of the door closed.

 _[That door leads to Engineering, if I recall our 'lovely host' is using it to manufacture her mechanical units. Eagleeye open up the door, let's see if we can shut it down right now, and save ourselves a headache later.]_

"Why does this scream 'ambush'?" Puppy asked nervously as Eagleeye walked toward the other door to open it as well.

As he touched the panel to open the door, everyone readied themselves again, but nothing happened. He tried to open the door again, and once more everyone tensed up, but once again nothing happened. "Door's locked Sir, doesn't seem like our host wants us in Engineering."

 _[Of course… the door is locked, why is it the most direct path is always closed off?]_ He said to them all, electing a chuckle from a few of them. _[Alright looks like we do this the hard way, that elevator isn't big enough for all of you and the containers, so you'll have to split up for now. Hawkeye, Mercy, Eagleeye and Sharptooth will go down first. T-Rex, Falcon and Puppy will wait with the cargo containers until the elevator comes back up and then join you later.]_

"If it didn't look like an ambush before, it sure is looking like one now." Puppy whispered over the coms as they began filing into the elevator.

As he entered last, the door closed behind them instantly, then without anyone pushing the floor buttons it began shaking. "Commander!" Hawkeye yelled.

 **{This elevator can only go down one floor, I'm sorry but my facilities are simply too power dependent to allow any more power to be diverted from the one 'active' generator, to allow you the freedom to choose which floor you can go to.}** The Hierarch Mother's voice hissed over the intercom. **{But if you wish to go back up, feel free to… I am more than content to wait for your deaths.}**

 _[I can't stop the elevator Sharks, she's locked me out of the elevator controls!]_ The Commander said. _[The Cameras are dark on the next floor, I can't see what's in there until you give me visual, be ready for anything!]_

Instantly they all readied their weapons and waited for the elevator to let them off. Once it did the doors opened and revealed a darkened room, the only sources of light being their weapon's flashlights and their helmet lights. Yet all they could see were what looked like badly damaged terminals.

"Commander, what room is this?" Sharptooth asked.

 _[Satellite Nexus, this is where all of the Satellites orbiting the world under XCOM's control transmitted signals and fed information to us.]_ He responded. _[Terminals are offline, lights are off, and I can't see anything beyond the small field of lights you're showing me. Advance with extreme caution, there's no telling what we may encounter.]_

With that he gave them positions to assume while the lift went back up for T-Rex, Falcon, Puppy and the supply containers. Minutes later the door opened up again, and all three of the remaining Sharks exited it, weapons at the ready and Puppy lagging behind everyone and protecting the containers still tied to her.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Puppy whispered as the elevator closed.

"Sir, the only way we're going to turn on the vents to clear our path is if we get to the generator on the other side of the Satellite Nexus." Eagleeye declared.

 _[My thoughts exactly, alright Sharks move out, and remember stay…]_

"Hold up!" Hawkeye said, interrupting the Commander, as he turned his head ever so slightly.

"What is it?" T-Rex asked as everyone tensed up.

He listened carefully, and just as he was about to turn his head to listen with the other ear, he heard something, then ever so slightly, he saw a shadow shift in an unusual way for just a split second. "I hear footsteps… somethings up ahead…" He whispered, aiming his weapon's light at the shifting shadow but saw nothing.

Everyone began looking around, yet saw nothing but overturned terminals and crates next to destroyed pillars and piles of concrete rubble. **"I see nothing… how are you certain?"** Mercy hissed nervously.

"When you spend time hunting with hawks, you learn how to hunt as they do." He said. "There's something out there, I assure you."

 _[Alright, T-Rex move to Grid N-12.]_ The Commander declared.

T-Rex nodded and proceeded forward, weapon at the ready and moving very carefully. Just as he reached a section of rubble which would serve as cover, everyone switched to what he saw and witnessed what he saw. "Contacts spotted!" T-Rex said.

(X-COM Enemy Unknown Combat Music 2)

Everyone saw a grey skinned 'Sectoid' that was smaller than the Sectoid they were familiar with. It had a very predominantly large head and glared at them upon spotting T-Rex. Seconds later another pair of Sectoids appeared next to the first, and all three of them were armed with Plasma Pistols. The instant they made eye contact the Sectoids ran behind the cover of the rubble and out of sight, yet they could still be barely seen by everyone.

"Are those 'Sectoids'?" Puppy asked in a grossed out voice. "Those things are hideous, not to mention creepy."

"Oh I really hated these things back in the day." Eagleeye commented.

 _[Don't take them lightly, they may be the basic Sectoids from before, but something tells me they are 'not' the wimps they used to be!]_ The Commander told them.

 **{In your human words, as we take our trip down memory lane, let me introduce you to your former 'first contact'… the Sectoid!}** The Hierarch Mother declared over the intercoms. **{These cloned soldiers of the Ethereals, the Elders, were the most primitive and weakest in body of their forces. Weak in body, yet powerful in mind, they possessed the gift that few species possessed. Their cruelty and frailty are well renowned… but I have 'perfected' at least… one… of those traits.}**

 _[T-Rex, Frag grenade on that pillar, destroy their cover!]_

"Lighting them up!" T-Rex called as he grabbed a grenade from his belt, pulled the trigger, and let it loose at the pillar.

A second later it exploded, destroying the pillar into an even smaller pile of rubble as T-Rex took cover. The Sectoids themselves were blown back by the explosion, but they each stood up and screeched angrily at being attacked. _[She didn't lie, that grenade should have obliterated all of them without any problem. They were extremely frail back in the day, and they almost always died in a single shot once we finally improved our weapons.]_ The Commander said. _[Well, nothing to it but to do it, focus fire on the Sectoids, full fire! Sharptooth, Hawkeye, focus on the left one. Eagleeye, Falcon, take the right, Mercy and Puppy, the center one!]_

"Let em have it!" Sharptooth shouted, and everyone raised their weapons and opened fire.

The laser shots from the weapons surprised Hawkeye, he was expecting some kind of recoil, but the weapons charged up their shots and fired cleanly and with greater accuracy than he thought it would, with absolutely no recoil. The red beams flew forward and hit the Sectoids and both the ones that were shot went down. But the one Mercy and Puppy fired at dodged the attacks as if their bullets were nothing.

"Missed wide!" Puppy screamed.

" **I missed!"** Mercy hissed.

" **Hraaaar!"** The Sectoid screamed, and moments later three more Sectoids ran forward from the shadows in T-Rex's sight.

"More contacts Sharks!" He yelled.

In retaliation two of the Sectoids raised their arms to their heads, and a strange purple energy field appeared that waved ever so slightly before them. The third and fourth Sectoids merged their minds, and the fourth open fired on Puppy as she stood in front of the containers.

"Ah!" Puppy screamed as she ducked to avoid the damage, but barely avoided it while the Containers took the brunt of the damage.

 _[Return fire!]_ The Commander screamed. _[If those containers take too much damage they might explode with all of the munitions stored in them!]_

T-Rex rounded the corner and let loose with his Alloy Cannon, but the shots that passed through the barrier seemed to melt halfway through and only a third of them reached the Sectoids, who easily absorbed the bullets without breaking the barrier. "Whatever it is their doing, its making my bullets ineffective!" He declared.

"I hate these Sectoids and their psionic capabilities!" Eagleeye yelled.

 _[Sharptooth, Hawkeye, Eagleeye, focus the Sectoid that initiated the Mind Merge!"_

All three turned their weapons against the Sectoid as ordered, and open fired. Without exception all three shots were weakened by the barrier before they hit the Sectoid. Yet the shots still combined were just enough to kill it, blasting a nice sized hole into its cranium. Seconds later the pistol firing Sectoid that shot at Puppy clutched his head, before screaming in rage at them, its normally opaque colored eyes gleaming red now.

 _[These things sure aren't like the old Sectoids. That normally kills both Sectoids when they are mind merged.]_ The Commander said in shock. _[Take cover now, Puppy move to Grid J-4, T-Rex fall back to Grid H-7, Hawkeye to I-7, Sharptooth to G-7, Eagleeye to L-6, Mercy to B-5, Falcon to T-5.]_

Everyone moved to take cover as quickly as they could while Puppy had to slow walk to hide behind a pillar, taking the cargo containers with her and behind a downed terminal to protect them.

"I hate psionic powers, I hate them, I hate the, I hate them!" Sharptooth yelled as she recharged her sniper rifle.

"They are creating a psionic barrier that is slowing down and weakening our weapons' fire." Falcon said calmly. "If our conventional weapons are not going to work against them, perhaps we should test how powerful their minds are compared to mine."

 _[I don't like the sound of it, but we have no choice!]_ The Commander said. _[Falcon target the Sectoid and see if you can overwhelm and mind control him!]_

Falcon nodded and pulled out his Psi Amp. "Your mind… is nothing but an open book to me!" He declared.

Seconds later a beam of purple energy connected the two and both began to grapple with each other's psionic minds. Hawkeye watched as Falcon twitched and shuddered slightly, and in response the Sectoid was also repeating the actions, glaring furiously at Falcon as they fought in the battle of the minds. Finally, just as Falcon seemed to be getting the advantage, the two Sectoids creating the barrier turned to their brethren and open fired on him, breaking the barrier down protecting them but also stopping Falcon from taking over their comrade.

"Guah!" Falcon gasped as he fell behind the cover, clutching his head in weariness. "That was impossible… he was about to fall, but they killed him before I could finish taking him over!"

"I don't care, that barrier's down and their vulnerable again!" Sharptooth yelled as she jumped over and ran at the Sectoids, pulling out her Arc Blade as the Commander ordered her into Reaper Mode. "FEAR THE REAPER YOU XENO SCUMBAGS!"

She ran forward as swift as lightning, and slashed down the first Sectoid with one swipe of her blade, cutting him cleanly down the middle and splattering yellow blood and guts around the floor. Instantly she turned her blade on the next Sectoid and repeated the gesture before he could retaliate, slicing him just as cleanly and effortlessly as she did the first one.

"More contacts Sharks!" T-Rex yelled as Sharptooth turned and spotted three 'more' Sectoids taking cover behind a pile of rubble.

"Oh you gata be kidding me!" Sharptooth whispered in horror as the Sectoids peaked over the rubble and open fired on her.

Instantly she got hit from all three plasma pistols, taking shots to her chest where her Predator Armor was heaviest, but she still fell to the ground clutching her wound and screaming in pain.

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy watched as her sister fell to the ground, and listened to her pained cries of agony.

"GAAAARH, I'M… DOOWN!" She screamed in agony. "MED KIT, I NEED A MED KIT!"

 _[Suppressing fire T-Rex, target that cover!]_ The Commander ordered. _[Eagleeye, grenade their cover, take it down. Mercy, provide supporting fire for Puppy as she moves to Sharptooth's position!]_

Mercy nodded and began providing suppressing fire alongside T-Rex, while Puppy slow walked as quickly as she could to the downed Sharptooth, still dragging the containers behind her and weapon at the ready while one hand reached for a med kit. As they did the cover was blown and T-Rex began letting loose with his Alloy Cannon on the Sectoids.

"Hang in there girlfriend, helps on the way!" Puppy yelled as she was under halfway to Sharptooth.

"My chest… it burns… where's that F****G MED KIT?" Sharptooth screamed in pain, rolling on the ground while still clutching her chest.

Mercy looked at the pace Puppy was walking and saw she wouldn't make it in time, the Sectoids were starting to return fire, stuttering the suppressing fire she and T-Rex were providing. At her rate she wouldn't reach Sharptooth in time before the wound became fatal and even the med kits wouldn't stabilize her. In reaction and desperation, she unhooked her jaw, shot out her tongue and wrapped it around the other med kit on Puppy's belt, and flung it at her downed sister.

Instantly Sharptooth grabbed the med kit, pressed it to the wound on her chest, and sighed in relief as the blue spray spread throughout the inside of her armor.

"Warn me next time you do that!" Puppy yelled.

 _[Enough Puppy, grenade those Sectoids Hawkeye, one incendiary round should finish them off!]_ The Commander ordered.

Mercy turned to watch with her tongue still hanging out as Hawkeye primed and tossed a red grenade and everyone, including Sharptooth dragging herself, took cover behind something. Following their example she pulled behind a downed pillar and felt a massive heat wave pass over as an explosion occurred. Once it passed she looked over and saw that where the Sectoids were, only charred bones and flesh remained.

"Are you alright Sharptooth?" T-Rex asked loudly.

Sharptooth!" Puppy yelled, everyone running toward Sharptooth now that the room was empty and clear.

Mercy slithered over, pulling her tongue into her mouth and rehooking it so that she could speak normally again. She saw her downed sister wearily pull herself into a sitting position, gasping for breath and sweating heavily from her forehead. The chest wound she had received had damaged her armor badly, but it at least protected her body from fatal injury. The plasma burns her skin received weren't damaging, at most it merely burned badly.

"Ugh… I've felt better Sharks." Sharptooth whispered as she grabbed her rifle, tossing the used and useless med kit away. "By the way, thanks for the help you two, especially you Mercy." She looked up at her and gave a weary smile. "That was some trick you did with your tongue, I didn't know you could use it that way."

" **Our tongues are very versatile, it is after all, pure muscle, similar to human tongues."** Mercy said halfheartedly. **"I can only use my tongue to its full length and effect, when I unhook my jaws, otherwise I risk permanent damage to my mouth and tongue."**

"Still, warn me next time you decide to play catch with my med kits!" Puppy yelled angrily. "Without Eagleeye's Gremlin, I'm the only one with any medical tools on this team, each med kit I've got is crucially important now more than ever!"

 _[Enough, we've got bigger fish to fry Sharks.]_ The Commander declared, ending the conversation instantly. _[Mercy, when we get back, we're going over your full capabilities. For now, don't do that again unless it's a 'dire' situation, and 'I' give you the order.]_ He said. _[Puppy, you bark too much, it was an emergency and she acted on impulse. You've done the same before, for now proceed to the next room and check it out.]_

She nodded and checked the ammo on her weapon while the other Sharks recharged theirs. Her clip had all but run dry, she had a few more shots before she would need to rearm her weapon.

As they approached the door to the generator room, the Sharks once again took positions while she remained near Puppy to protect the cargo containers.

Moments later Eagleeye opened the door and she switched to his visuals to see what he saw. The generator room contained a massive electrical generator that clearly offline, yet emergency power was keeping the main terminal active.

He moved forward and to the terminal with Hawkeye and T-Rex watching for anything. Moments later she and Puppy and the rest of the sharks were ordered into the generator room as well.

"Alright, I'm activating the generator Commander!" He declared as the door closed behind Puppy.

=XCOM Enemy Unknown Main Theme=

Mercy watched as sparks emerged from the generator, then it began to turn and whirl, roaring to life as if it were some ancient beast awakening from its slumber. Instantly the spinning picked up, and lights began turning on revealing the full scope of the generator room. It was at least ten feet high and forty feet wide, with a massive generator connected to the rock formation with wires of varying size spread throughout the room.

It was an amazing sight as she watched everything turning on, unable to tear her eyes away from the generator while it reached full power.

"I'm accessing the power distribution Commander…" Eagleeye said.

"Good, let's turn on the ventilation system and get home… I can't stand this place anymore." Sharptooth said as she rubbed her chest. "A visit is nice, but with all of these Xenos around, I don't want to stay here anymore. No offense Mercy…"

" **I take no offense sister… I want to leave as well."** She replied in agreement.

She wanted to leave this base as soon as she could, with the Hierarch Mother trapping them here and with more dangerous foes probably still at her disposal, she just wanted to leave with her new 'family'.

"I've gained access to the power distribution program Commander… but we've got a problem." Eagleeye said sourly.

"Don't tell me it's busted!" Puppy yelled.

 _[No, the Hierarch Mother seems to be a step ahead of us.]_ The Commander declared. _[She's reprogramed and rearranged the power distribution priority settings we used to determine which facilities receive power over others. Everything seems to be diverting automatically to various sections of the base, draining the power we can allocate to anything else before we can send it to the ventilation system. We've gained partial power to the lights in all levels, and partial power to the elevators so we can go down another level, but the ventilation system is being treated as an extremely low priority, and no power is being sent to it.]_

" **But this is 'your base' Commander… how can she do as she wills with it?"** Mercy asked incredulously.

 _[We abandoned it, so it's no longer 'our' base Mercy.]_ He said. _[Alright, looks like our plans have changed again. We need to restore power to all of the systems before we can activate the ventilation system it seems. The next generator appears to be on the next level, if we can turn it on we may be able to restore power to ventilation. Let's move out Sharks!]_

Mercy nodded and turned around with the others as Puppy moved out of the way so they could go first.

As they all filed out of the generator room, they all looked up and saw in the far distance a pair of tall individuals. Tall and 'thin' individuals, wearing suits and each holding a plasma rifle in one hand.

=XCOM Enemy Unknown Combat Music 4=

At them entering their line of sight, the two 'Thin Men' turned and hissed angrily before running for cover, just as any of the Sharks would.

 **{Behold, that which you so adeptly named, 'Thin Man', incredibly flexible, incredibly loyal, and incredibly intelligent.}** The Hierarch Mother said over the intercoms. **{Though lacking what the Elders refer to as, 'the gift', capable of immense acts of what humans refer to as 'heroism'. There was little needed for me to improve upon them, besides even greater flexibility, and even greater acuity. Though we are of the same species, even I must admit, I find 'this' form rather… useful.}**

"I am really getting tired of hearing her talk!" Eagleeye yelled as he and the others were ordered into defensive positions, while Puppy was ordered to take cover behind a large pile of rubble to protect her and the cargo containers she was still dragging with her.

 _[Falcon, destroy their cover with another grenade!]_ The Commander ordered.

Falcon nodded and readied a grenade, before flinging it over and having it land in front of the rubble.

Mercy looked over and watched in horror and surprise as the Thin Man hiding behind the cover nimbly jumped over 'just' as the grenade landed in front, and grabbed it, before just as nimbly tossing it away. It exploded without any damage being done to anything or anyone besides the nearby wall.

"When the hell did they learn that trick?" T-Rex asked in awe as the Thin Man grinned before raising his Plasma Rifle and firing at them.

 _[I guess by greater 'flexibility' she means that.]_ The Commander commented as he ordered them to take cover from the attack. _[And by greater acuity I guess she made them more capable of hearing. For now, Mercy, open fire on the Thin Man and get rid of that suppression fire for our squad!]_

Mercy nodded and slid over her cover, exposing herself to attack but also giving herself a closer shot. She aimed her weapon, and fired.

Each and every shot she fired seemed to miss as he leaned one direction and then another, as if he were dodging multiple shots in slow motion. He grinned at her before aiming his weapon again and resuming his attack. Meanwhile the other Thin Man leapt over his cover and fired on Puppy's position, damaging her cover with each shot he made.

"Commander, if we all open fire on him, we may be able to hit him!" Eagleeye declared as Mercy fled back behind to her cover as the Commander ordered her to.

 _[My thoughts exactly, target the one focusing you guys down first!]_ He ordered.

"But what about Puppy?" He said, and Mercy looked over to see her cover was slowly being whittled away, while she remained in overwatch cover.

 _[She'll be fine for now, focus on your target!]_ He declared.

Mercy watched from her cover as the other five members of the Sharks all moved up from their cover and opened fire on the Thin Man, just as he paused to reload his weapon. Almost as if it were a joke he were laughing at, the Thin Man began weaving and dodging as he did before, avoiding all of the laser shots without any effort. All the while he was dodging, he had been reloading his weapon with one hand, and still grinning at them.

Once they expended their weapons ammo he resumed fire at them, still grinning with that smug expression behind his sunglasses.

"What does it take to hit this guy?" T-Rex yelled.

"I don't remember them being 'this' dodgy in the past!" Eagleeye said as he reloaded. "Nothing's hitting him!"

"Guys, you better do something fast, I'm running out of cover here!" Puppy yelled fearfully as another section of her cover was lost, now exposing her head as she ducked even more to remain safe.

It was then that Mercy had an idea. **"Commander, I think I can bind that Thin Man using my tongue!"** She said over her coms. **"If I can bind him just long enough, Hawkeye should be able to shoot him before he can escape! His body must not be very strong or he would not need to dodge so much!"**

 _[Just what I was thinking Mercy, alright, do your thing, wrap him up and give our Ranger the shot he needs!]_

She nodded and unhooked her jaw again, allowing her tongue full freedom of movement. Then she slid over her cover once more, hissed furiously at the Thin Man, a clone of what her species 'used' to be, forced to be genetically altered to allow them to blend into human society. In response the Thin Man hissed just as angrily back at her, and took aim with his Plasma Rifle. Yet just as he was about to fire, she flung her tongue at him, and faster than he could react, wrapped it around him, pulled him toward her, and coiled around him tightly, hissing angrily as she looked into his angular green eyes behind his glasses.

He hissed angrily back at her as he struggled to get free, but his strength paled in comparison to her strength, which was distributed throughout her body coiled around him, while he was focusing solely on his arms and legs.

" **Now!"** She yelled as clearly as she could with her jaw still unhooked. **"Take the shot!"**

 _[Open fire Hawkeye!]_ The Commander ordered instantly.

She glanced over and let go a split second before Hawkeye signaled he was about to fire. Just as they had hoped, unable to dodge in time or see the attack coming, the Thin Man she had bound was shot straight through the chest, and now had a nice clean burn mark on both sides of his suit, with a nicely rounded hole to complement them. As he died though, the toxin cloud erupted from his body, but she had nothing to fear of the toxins as she slithered back to her cover, as she was a Viper, and even though he was cloned and altered, her body's immune system to poison was far stronger than the poisons she could deliver.

She turned to the remaining Thin Man to prepare to repeat the maneuver, but as she did he seemed to stop firing as he put his hand to his ear. She could just faintly see an earpiece behind the hair he had, and he nodded before leaping over the rubble pile, retreating toward the door on the other side of the room.

"He's getting away!" Puppy yelled as she opened overwatch fired.

 _[He's not retreating, he's regrouping!]_ The Commander declared. _[My motion scanners are going off the hook, watch the vents, something heading your way!]_

Almost immediately the various vents in the room began shaking and rocking, and everyone began aiming weapons in different directions. While the vents rocked and shook, he ordered them into various positions where they could watch from and protect the cargo containers from the center of the room. As Mercy slid into position, readying her tongue to grip another foe, several shoes appeared as they kicked the vent doors down.

From the vents four more Thin Men appeared, joining the one still standing on the far side of the room. "You've got to be kidding me, it took everything just to tag one of them!" Sharptooth yelled.

"What are we going to do?" Puppy asked as the Thin Men all took up defensive positions behind various piles of rubble.

 _[Open up one of the containers, there should be some grenades we used back in the day that we can use now!]_ The Commander ordered.

As quickly as Puppy could she reached into the third container from the one she was tied to and pulled out several small cylindrical objects. "Flash Bang grenades?" Puppy asked with confusion.

 _[Don't hash them till you've used them, there's a reason why they're still used by us today.]_ He said as Puppy tossed the grenades to her fellow Sharks.

Mercy took the little grenade and waited until she was ordered to pull the pin, just as she had seen her fellow XCOM operatives do on the screen many times. Once he did, she and the Sharks all pulled the pins and tossed the grenades over the cover of the Thin Men.

They responded as quickly as the first one did, each of the Thin Men leapt over their cover, grabbed the grenades out of the air and tossed them away. Yet just as they did the grenades exploded while she and the Sharks hid behind their cover. All around the room pained hisses occurred as the grenades flashed the enemy Thin Men, blinding them all temporarily.

 _[Hit em hard now!]_ He ordered.

As one all of the Sharks got up from their positions and opened fire on the Thin Men. Unable to see what the Sharks were doing, the Thin Men could not respond in time, and were shot through. All five of the Thin Men collapsed into clouds of toxic fumes that lingered around where they died.

 _[No more signals, I'm not detecting any more movements in your area Sharks.]_ The Commander told them. _[Proceed with caution though, I doubt that this is the best the Hierarch Mother has to stand against us.]_

"Commander… the next time you want to take a squad to another former XCOM location…" Puppy said quietly as they moved single file, with Mercy hooking her jaw back together so she could talk again. "Take one of the other squads, I don't want to visit another facility."

It took them time to move through the various clouds of toxins left over by the Thin Men, but eventually they made their way through one by one, with Mercy being the only one immune to the various poisons.

After that they once again split up to take the elevator down, with Puppy, T-Rex and Falcon staying behind again while she and the others took the elevator down.

With a rumble it lowered down and they were once again let off into a dark corridor, but this time they at least had some vision. The door behind them, which the Commander said lead to a Laboratory, was also conveniently locked. _[Until we can gain full power again, I can't override those controls.]_ He told them. _[For now, secure the next room, it looks like the Officer Training School. There might be supplies we can recover and add to our stock so keep an eye out. And beyond this is another storage room, next to the Generator Room. If we can get to it and activate the generator, we may or may not have enough to turn on the ventilation system, as well as gain even more supplies.]_

"Assuming our 'host' doesn't stop us." Sharptooth growled as she advanced to cover in front of her.

"I really don't like how this looks." Hawkeye whispered to Mercy as she and he advanced to another position while Eagleeye took the other side with Sharptooth.

" **I agree… I wish we had not come here…"** She hissed worriedly.

Despite her fury she displayed fighting the Thin Men, she really feared what else her Hierarch Mother might have brought back from the past.

Moments later the elevator began ascending and thus the wait for the rest of the Sharks began as well. She felt afraid without the full group of Land Sharks squad with her, and she knew the Commander didn't want to take any risks until they were all together again. But there was one small comfort that she continued to draw upon, even in this dark situation.

She glanced over at Hawkeye with one eye, grateful that she at least had her kindred human with her to give her strength. As long as he was with her, she was not nearly as afraid.

" **We made a good team back upstairs."** She hissed warmly to him.

"Yea, we sure did." Hawkeye chuckled back. "So, you thinking of joining the Sharks?"

" **I might… but I do not like fighting, in open…"** She hissed.

"Eh, I'm sure the Commander will come up with a position for you. You could become a Ranger like me." He said. "We specialize in long range combat, only go for close quarters when we have to."

As she watched she saw his vision change to look over at Sharptooth.

"Or if you just so happen to love slicing enemies up without checking if any enemies are ahead of you." He commented.

She watched as Sharptooth's reply confused her, as instead of talking back, she merely signaled to him with the middle index finger of her hand while still looking for threats.

 _ ***Is that some sort of… compliment among humans?***_ She thought curiously, as she listened to Hawkeye chuckle in response. _***Perhaps it is a personal compliment, meant only for those two and one only they can understand.***_

Moments later the elevator arrived, and the remaining Sharks and the cargo containers arrived.

Yet while they waited for instruction, the Commander instead gave them none, instead constantly looking through the cameras on their level at various angles. They saw up ahead outside of their small circle of light were several downed shelves, covered in rubble, and destroyed sections of floor. The flooring itself looked heavily cracked and indented in places, but they also saw several crates of munitions and weapons.

 _[This doesn't look right… there's nothing there.]_ The Commander commented to them all. _[She wouldn't just let us walk to another generator without 'some' kind of trap laid out for us.]_

"So who gets to play the bait?" Puppy asked quietly, and almost instantly she was given the order to advance several paces forward to give them vision. "Me and my big mouth…"

 _[Relax Puppy, your only advancing to better cover, just be sure to avoid those large cracks in the floor, I don't like how deep those dents in the rock and concrete look.]_ He said.

"Lovely…" Puppy muttered nervously as she moved forward, being very careful with where she aimed her weapon, in case she ran into more trouble.

As she advanced she turned this way and that, looking for threats before she finally reached the cover of the rubble the Commander sent her to. "C…contacts!" Puppy squealed as she looked over her cover and onto the other side.

=XCOM Enemy Unknown Combat Music 8=

Everyone switched to her vision and they saw three robotic units ahead of them, and instantly they turned to look at Puppy, spreading their tendril like arms toward her threateningly, before all of them vanished from sight, becoming nothing before their eyes as she recognized the personal cloaking devices.

 **{Created to serve as tracking and isolation units, you may recognize them by their more common name that 'you' gave them… Seekers.}** The Hierarch Mother declared, almost on cue. **{Though little has changed in their design, I have modified their primary weapons to be more 'powerful' than they were before. And as for their cloaks, I have increased the power output they have, so as to be undetectable by your little, 'Battle Scanners'… and so that the cloak which is their primary means of attack, lasts far longer than before. Until they decide it is time… to 'seek' their prey.}**

"Hnnng…" Puppy muttered as she looked this way and that way, her movements jittery as none of them saw the Seekers or where they had went.

 _[Calm down Puppy, your safe for now.]_ The Commander said.

"C… calm down?" She whispered. "Sure, you can be calm… you're not the one with these… 'things'… floating around you… waiting till you drop your guard!"

 _[Focus Puppy, they won't hurt you just yet!]_ He said. _[Seekers operate as ambush units, they won't target you if you're with the group. They'll wait until you're alone before they strike, so as long as you stay with the others you'll be fine.]_

"Yea… that's what 'you' think!" She muttered fearfully. "You thought you knew the other alien types, and look what that got us! How do you know these operate the same as they did before?"

 _[I don't, I'm only going on what I know about them… for now stay where you are, Eagleeye's coming to join you. Everyone else, advance forward… slowly and carefully.]_

As a group they began making their way across the room, being careful to avoid the cracks in the floor and being sure to stick together as much as possible.

As she moved with Hawkeye she thought for a moment she heard some kind of hissing sound next to her, but as she turned and reflectively aimed her weapon, she saw 'nothing. "I hear it too Mercy… stay close by." Hawkeye whispered to her.

" **I would be nowhere else…"** She hissed quietly to him.

Almost at that exact moment, when everyone had pushed forward and puppy began to lag behind due to her dragging the containers, one of the Seekers chose that exact moment to appear. Unfortunately they were more focused on the one that appeared directly in front of them and caught them completely off guard as it appeared.

"Contact spotted!" T-Rex shouted as everyone began opening fire, but it deployed a small shield to protect itself as they did.

"Gyeeeeeaaah!" Puppy screamed, getting everyone's attention now as they saw the second Seeker, wrapping its mechanical tendrils around her and binding her tightly, staring into her terrified face as she struggled to free herself. "Get… it… off me… I can't… breath!" She moaned.

"Puppy!" Eagleeye screamed as he opened fire with his weapon, but the Seeker refused to let her go.

 _[That thing's got a tougher grip then it used to!]_ The Commander yelled, panicking as everyone began trying to open fire, but then the third Seeker appeared, and deployed its shield to protect the second one just as the first did to protect itself. _[We gata break that shield down, or we'll never get to Puppy!]_

Puppy meanwhile being squeezed even tighter as the Seeker binding her began to try and break her bones, exposing sharp blades on its front which were aimed at her face. Mercy saw that if they didn't do something, her young body would begin to break apart as her bones were snapped by the ever tightening grip of the Seeker.

"Help… me… grandpa… he's… breaking my… bones!" Puppy moaned desperately, her weapon dropped as she lost her grip. "Cant… breath… help… someone!"

"Hang on Puppy!" Eagleeye yelled as the Commander ordered everyone to fire on the shielding Seeker while Falcon kept the other Seeker busy with his psi abilities.

Yet none of the beam weapons, not even Mercy's rifle, were breaking the shield down, in fact it seemed to be unaffected by their weapons fire. _[Mercy, answer yes or no, can you spit an acidic venom from your mouth?]_

" **Yes!"** Mercy yelled as she caught onto his plan.

 _[Hit the Seeker binding Puppy now!]_ He yelled.

She nodded and once more unhinged her mouth, released her tongue, and took careful aim, before spitting a very potent stream of venom at the main head of the Seeker binding Puppy. With a gratifying sound of plasma energy being phased through, her venom passed through the shield the Seekers had erected for their protection, and struck the Seeker keeping Puppy held.

It instantly released her and screeched in agony, as its optical sensors were damaged, hit by her acidic venom.

Puppy began coughing heavily as she landed on the floor. _[Puppy, if you can reach your gun, fire on the second Seeker, before it cloaks and can get away!]_ The Commander ordered.

Puppy nodded, and through her coughing fit grabbed her rifle and aimed it at the backside of the shielding Seeker and fired. Instantly the Seeker lowered its shield in response to being shot from behind, and the instant it dropped the shield they all fired and shot down 'both' Seekers. Both Seekers collapsed into semi liquid and metal piles of scrap.

The third Seeker seemed to have calculated its odds against them, and it chose to disguise itself before they could shoot it down. Falcon tried to sense where it went, but his psionic powers only could sense living creatures, not mechanical bodies.

Meanwhile Eagleeye was all over Puppy as she coughed heavily, still tied to her cargo containers. "Hang on Puppy… hang in there girl!" He said soothingly as she coughed into his shoulder.

"Couldn't… breathe… he was… killing me!" She muttered. "Could… barely… shoot."

"It's alright little lady, your fine now." T-Rex said calmly as everyone relaxed at hearing her coughing.

Mercy too was glad, the little female human seemed to serve this squad as a precious member, far more precious than any of them felt they were. She had seen how they had all reacted to Puppy's distress, they had all thrown themselves to rescue her, despite how dire the situation looked. They regarded each other's dire situations with the same professionalism they showed in dangerous positions, yet for Puppy their attitude changed entirely.

In her time with the Sharks, spending time talking to some of them, getting to know them, Puppy seemed like a 'useless' member to keep around in her opinion. The young operative lacked experience, lacked discipline sometimes, and lacked the obvious weaponry necessary to stand up with her fellow operatives. Yet she seemed just as important to the Land Sharks, as if she were their best member.

 _ ***If they had lost her…***_ She thought in relief, knowing she was safe now.

"I… only have… one question…" Puppy said as her breathing began to settle.

"And that is?" Hawkeye asked.

"Was that… a confirmed kill for me…? I had a coughing fit… and couldn't see what happened." She asked instantly.

 _[Sorry Puppy, those two went to T-Rex and Eagleeye.]_ The Commander said, while everyone chuckled at Puppy's question.

"Oh… come on…" She complained while leaning on the ground. "I'm choking to death… get the perfect flank on an enemy, shot him two feet in front of me… and 'still' no confirmed kill? What do I gata do, jump off a cliff?"

 _[Contact!]_ The Commander yelled, and they all turned to see the remaining Seeker decloak, and fire three plasma shots directly where Mercy and Hawkeye were.

During their haste to rescue Puppy, they failed to notice that they were standing on one of the indented portions of the room. Before they could react the shots hit the section, and the entire thing began to shake. The next thing that happened, time once again seemed to slow down for Mercy, as the ground beneath her tail collapsed, revealing an endlessly dark hole below her.

She tried to grab ahold of something, but all she saw were the looks of shock on her fellow XCOM member's faces, as she began falling down, and down. In desperation she grabbed out to the only thing she could, her human kindred, Hawkeye. She managed to grab his hand, but as they descended, each screaming in their own ways, all she could see was darkness.

(The Commander's PoV)

The Commander watched from his position in the ventilation system as his vision through Hawkeye's and Mercy's optic lenses became black, and he could not see anything where they might have fallen.

Unable to determine their fate, he switched to his remaining Sharks as they fired on the remaining Seeker and destroyed it.

" _Where's Hawkeye, where's Mercy!"_ Puppy screamed in shock as she tried to look over the side of the hole.

" _Calm down, just… just calm down I'm sure their fine!"_ Sharptooth yelled, but the panic in her voice was just as evident.

" _Commander, where are they, where did they land?"_ T-Rex asked.

 _[As far as I can tell… they landed in the Genetics Lab two floors down.]_ He said as calmly as he could, but he was only just barely staying calm. _[The lights are still offline down there, I can't see anything where they landed it's all dark to me!]_

The Genetics Lab was two floors below them, but it was at least a forty foot plummet from where they were, and he doubted they landed in something very soft.

 _[Alright Sharks, move to the next room, we can't stay there for long, keep moving.]_

" _What, keep moving, are you insane, we can't just leave Hawkeye and Mercy down there, they may need medical help!"_ Puppy yelled.

 _[Keep your voice down Puppy, remember, the Hierarch Mother can hear what you say as well as I can.]_ He said.

" _Screw the Hierarch Mother, Hawkeye and Mercy are my friends, I am not leaving them down there!"_ Puppy answered, but he couldn't concern himself with her response, as he was observing several cloaked signals moving toward them through the ventilation system.

 _[Incoming Seekers, take up defensive positions Sharks!]_ He ordered, giving them their positions as he watched several Seekers deploying their cloaks outside the room before moving in. _[Hawkeye… Mercy… you're on your own… don't die on me you two… whatever you find down there… just don't die…]_

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"Ugh…" He moaned as he felt like his bones weighed like twelve tons.

He couldn't see anything around him as everything was in total darkness.

" **Hawkeye?"** He heard Mercy hiss nearby. **"You still alive?"**

"Yea… I'm still breathing…" He moaned quietly as he tried getting up, only to find that he felt far more comfortable lying on the floor. "How you feeling?"

" **My tail… is twisted… my arms are in pain… my head has lump… and my jaw was dislocated moment ago… without me wanting it to be."** She hissed back.

"Well… as the old saying goes… be accustomed to pain." He said.

" **Why that?"** She hissed back hoarsely.

"Let's you know… your still alive!" He moaned painfully. "Can you see anything?"

" **No… am I… blind?"** She asked nervously.

"Nope… unless I'm blind to…" He whispered back.

Wearily and painfully he stood back up into a sitting position, he shook his head and looked up, only to see just the faintest of light from above, where obviously the rest of the Sharks still were. "Ugh… Commander…" He said, trying to be quiet as he tried to turn his coms on. "Commander… come in… Commander, do you hear me?"

All he heard was static.

"Mercy… can you activate your coms?" He asked her.

" **Trying…"** She hissed. **"Commander… do you hear me… please respond?"** She asked, but moments later she answered, **"No… nothing."**

There was silence as he realized that they were on their own now. "Commander will figure out how to make contact with us… for now we need… to get our bearings and… figure out where we are!" He said, trying to turn on his helmet light but finding it was shattered. "Can you get up?"

" **No… I think I'm trapped… my neck is weighed down… as is my tail…"** She hissed wearily. **"Can't move my left arm… it trapped as well I think."**

"One sec, let me see if I can find my rifle… maybe its light is still working." He said, and he began feeling around where he thought his rifle might have fallen.

As he felt around he found rock, and rock, and more rock, until he found something that was rather soft. Instantly he recognized it as Kevlar, and figured it was Mercy tried to determine if it was her arm or tail.

Unfortunately, it was 'neither'.

" **Ah…"** She hissed quietly. **"Stop that…"**

"Sorry, are you hurt?" He asked.

" **No… you just… grabbed my chest."** She hissed.

"Oh…" He answered, now thoroughly embarrassed. "Sorry, I can't see anything."

" **It… alright…"** She hissed, but even she sounded thoroughly embarrassed by his action. **"My gun… to your right… just a little bit, you can use it to see."**

Taking her instructions he began feeling around, and sure enough, found the handle of her rifle near her side where he had 'felt' her. Once he found the handle and located the light, he turned it on and used it to look at her condition.

She was indeed buried under pieces of stone and rock. Her tail was buried as was her neck, as well as her left arm, but other than that she seemed to be alright. "Good thing we were wearing our armor, if we had taken that fall without it…" He whispered as he began lifting the rocks off of her.

" **Wouldn't have survived… if not for me…"** She hissed wearily as she was slowly released. **"Grabbed you… as we fell… pulled you above to break the fall. Your bones more fragile than mine… didn't want you to break."**

"Is that so, guess I owe you one." He chuckled as he helped her up, and she shook her head, while fixing her jaw.

" **It alright, we even now… you spared my life… I saved your life."**

With that they found his rifle and they both began looking around at where they were. Unfortunately with the limited lighting they could not see very well, and all they could see was that they were in a massive chamber, that looked to be some kind of 'lab'. What kind of lab that was he didn't know, having never once looked up or asked for the old XCOM HQ's blueprints.

"We need to get the lights on at least, see what room this is, and how far we fell."

" **I think I see one."** She hissed and pointed her light's beam at what seemed to be a terminal.

He walked over and examined it, finding that it had partial power to it.

There were two commands active to it, under the command phrase,

 _ **[Priority Power available, Activate? (Y) (N)]**_

"Priority power, if I recall the Commander said that when priority power was established, systems meant to receive it were given priority over other systems like the ventilation." He said.

" **Should we use it?"** She asked him.

"It might be worth the risk, we need to figure out where we are, and how far we fell. We could even figure out what room this is and if there's anything useful in it." He replied. "Well… genie's already out of the bottle, no choice but to make our three wishes."

" **Wishes?"** She asked curiously.

"Figure of speech." He said. "Alright Genie, wish number one… give us light."

=XCOM Enemy Unknown Main Theme=

With that he pushed the (Y) command, and instantly it began displaying data too fast for him to read or understand. **{Priority Power active, disengaging Emergency Stasis Unit's Life Support System… Re-establishing normal Life Support system to Containment Chambers!}** A mechanical voice said over the intercom in their room, as lights began to go on all around.

As lights turned on they began seeing that they were in a massive chamber, filled with large and heavy equipment of the kind found in labs. There were massive terminals that suddenly became active, huge scanning machines that blazed into life after lying dormant, and a huge computer off to the side of the room that was easily twice the size of any generator they had found.

They looked over and found what appeared to be a low dais chamber which had engineering equipment that he knew Shen would give up an arm and a leg to have in 'her' engineering bay, which had apparently a completely finished MEC suit waiting. It even had a massive rifle for the suit, with several full clips of ammo waiting nearby.

" **What the…"** Mercy hissed in amazement. **"It's… it's…"**

"This… I know what this is." He whispered as he recognized some of the equipment. "This is a 'genetics lab', we're in the XCOM Genetics Lab."

 **{Full priority power restored to all systems, activating priority one systems.}** The female synthetic voice declared. **{Reinitializing GENE Modification Therapy Pod, finalizing Procedure… restoring body functions to normal… activating reconstitution fluids.}**

They turned around again to the terminal they were just staring at, and saw that behind it were a circle of tube chambers, each twice the size of a human. While most of the tubes were empty, two in particular were completely full of liquids, and suspended in them were two 'humans', and as the tubes rotated so they were in front, a mechanical arm took one tube and moved it over to what they thought was an examination table, while the other had more tubes automatically attach to it, pumping more fluids into it.

 **{Full systems initialization complete, full system restoration complete, proceeding with operational functions.}** The voice said again. **{Activating MEC Soldier Cybernetic Augmentation Interface Suit attachment to body.}**

Instantly they watched as the body, which they saw was missing all four limbs, was placed into the chamber out of their sight, and slowly began sliding down the conveyer belt toward them. All the while mechanical arms began taking pieces of suits, arms and legs, and attaching them to the torso where they belonged.

 **{Gene Modification Complete, restarting normal body functions, disengaging life support…}**

As they watched the other tube, which had been filled with various liquids, they saw that the person inside, for it still 'was' a person, began to move ever so subtly. Eventually they saw the person, a man, open his eyes and look wearily at them, and based on his features he looked to be of Native American descent. Then the tube chamber began to empty of its liquid, and move toward them where there was a slot meant for it to sit. At the same time the other person, undergoing the MEC augmentation, a woman with dark skin, opened her eyes just as wearily, while the arms welded the pieces of her suit onto her.

 **{Full cyber augmentation suit attachment, complete… initializing sync to systems… system sync complete… MEC Soldier Cybernetic Augmentation Interface Suit attachment procedure complete…}**

After both of their procedures ended, they each stepped up or stepped out of their various chambers and wearily stood on their feet, looking at their hands and arms, before looking at him and Mercy.

Seeing the XCOM Logo on both of their uniforms, as well as the Corporal rank on Hawkeye's armor, they each saluted him and declared in proud and determined voices.

"Sargent Nez Perce, Gene Soldier, Assault Class, Squad Wolf reporting for duty!"

"Lieutenant Gabriella Jules, MEC Trooper, Squad Falcon reporting for duty!"


	12. Chapter 12

[Vow of the Warden Wolf]

[We are XCOM's Squad Wolf, Terra's protectors, history has once again repeated itself and demonstrated that our beloved mother and her children must be protected, and it falls to her children to stand united in order to fulfill that order.]

[As a Warden Wolf, we declare ourselves protectors of the only home we humans know of in this universe. As long as a single otherworldly threat remains upon her sacred and treasured soil, we Warden Wolves will do all that we must in order to protect her and her defenseless children.]

[Our mother Terra calls to us, as our birth mothers call to us, by the blood in our veins we will do all that is necessary, and what is necessary, to protect and keep safe that which is unique to 'us' as a species. And until we howl our last to our over watching father the moon, we swear to not retreat from our enemy…]

[Either Death claim us, or Death claim our enemies… there is no other reality that we Warden Wolves will accept. We are 'Custodi Protectatores Terrae'… Earth's Warden Protectors.]

=Chapter 12, Falcon Talons and Wolf Fangs=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

Hawkeye stared at the two XCOM operatives that had just awoken from their slumber, and could only ask one single question.

"How the hell are you two still alive?" He asked.

He had read a 'few' reports from XCOM's database concerning the old HQ, but in the few reports he had read, none of them mentioned that there were 'survivors' left over from the initial evacuation.

"I don't know the answer to that sir." Nez Perce said as he stood where he was at attention.

"Please explain what you mean by that statement." Gabriella Jules declared in a synthetic yet still fairly human voice. "The last thing I remember, was being sedated by Dr. Vahlen to allow Dr. Shen to begin the procedure for Cybernetic Augmentation."

"Which reminds me, where is she, last I remember was seeing her as I went under to undergo Gene Modification." Nez Perce asked, looking around at the surprisingly clean but still very dusty room. "Also, what is 'that' doing here?" He looked at Mercy with a curious expression. "Has Dr. Vahlen figured out a way to alter the physical appearance of Gene Soldiers to allow them even greater flexibility and maneuverability?"

He looked at Mercy and she looked back at him with just as much confusion. "That's going to be a little hard to explain…" He said quietly. "Tell me, do you know what year it is?"

"2015 Sir." Perce said instantly.

"Negative, my system chronometer declares that to be inaccurate." Gabriella said, stepping forward and holding her metallic hand to her head. "The current year is 2040, twenty five years after we were sedated and placed in our Meld Modification Chambers. I was to be transferred to the Cybernetics Lab once my procedure was completed, to allow my enhancements to be welded and melded to my new body." She looked at her hands and arms, legs and 'feet' with confusion. "Why have I been put together here in the Genetics Lab, this is a breach of protocol and a violation of seven base regulations for MEC Trooper Augmentation and Gene Soldier Modification."

" **Uh… who are you?"** Mercy asked with confusion.

"First explain why we have been awakened twenty five years after we were put to sleep!" Gabriella declared angrily, taking a step forward and looking at Mercy. "You may be wearing an XCOM uniform, but you are clearly not an XCOM Operative! Your profile does not fit any of the known classes of soldier that we have listed for our forces. Your appearance also signifies that you are clearly 'not' human. State who you are or I will take you to the containment unit, and Dr. Vahlen will extract the information from you."

"That's not going to happen." Hawkeye said instantly, stepping in front of Mercy. "First of all you're not hurting someone working for XCOM. Second of all there's no way we can reach that place, if it's even accessible. Thirdly, Dr. Vahlen is no longer here, in fact nobody from back then is around anymore. XCOM HQ has fallen."

There was silence as his last words were said, almost echoing around the room when he did. None of them moved, until Perce looked over at the large computer and walked over to it, and began punching in commands. "I will verify that…" He declared.

Minutes later the screen came up and several camera angles were displayed. All three showed various positions on their floor, and while two of them were static with the 'No Signal' text being displayed, the third one revealed a pile of rubble that 'used' to be the room labeled, 'Cybernetics Lab'. Just barely visible was an MEC arm poking up from a pile of rubble, the hand's fingers spread at odd angles, with one clearly shot off.

"He's telling the truth…" He said. "Our base has fallen, the Cybernetics Lab had three MEC units stationed to protect it during any situation involving the base coming under attack."

"Those three were members of Falcon Squad." Gabriella said, forgetting Mercy and Hawkeye as she too walked over to the screen. "If they are destroyed, then it must be true… XCOM HQ has fallen… the XCOM Project has failed. We… are defeated."

"If the enemy entered our den and breached our forces this far, they clearly must have broken through to Mission Control. Which means anyone left to fight… has fallen as well…" Perce said quietly. "Tell me Hawkeye… did anyone escape… how many died? Are there any others who survived?"

It was Mercy this time who answered. **"I'm afraid… none."** She whispered sadly, looking mournfully at them. **"You two, are the only survivors that we have found thus far… the Valkyrie Squad, Beta Squad, Delta Squad, Wolf Squad, and Falcon Squad… were all wiped out. We saw their corpses as we attempted to make our way to the generators to turn them on."**

"So then why have you returned?" Gabriella asked as she turned around, now looking suspicious. "You clearly did not just realize we were still alive, otherwise you two would not be alone. This is obviously not a rescue operation, tell me; is the Commander from 'our' days still in charge?"

"Yes he is, we came here searching for supplies, with five other members of our Squad." Hawkeye said, picking up his Laser Sniper Rifle and checking its charge. "We were separated when the floor collapsed under us from enemy fire. Right now we're trapped two floors below the Commander's position, and we have no way to communicate with him."

" **Yes…"** Mercy said, taking her rifle and checking her clip, before reloading it with a fresh one. **"And you are right… I am not human… I am a Viper, an 'alien' species as you would say."**

"Yet you fight alongside us?" Perce asked. "Why is that?"

 _[That can take a good few hours to explain.]_ A voice declared on the intercom, a voice they all instantly recognized. _[For now you two, accept that Mercy, the Viper you are talking to, is on our side. She's turned on her own kind to be with us, she has her reasons, but that's all you need to know for now.]_

"Commander?" Hawkeye said, thoroughly relieved.

" **Commander, is that you?"** Mercy asked, also looking relieved.

 _[Indeed, and I see you found some 'friends', but it's good to see you guys alive and well.]_ He said, and they all saw one of the cameras turn to look at them. _[I'm sorry I can't be there in person, but I'm a little distracted at the moment, its taking all of my multitasking abilities to keep the Hierarch Mother from knowing you're down there.]_

"Commander, it is good to hear your voice again." Perce said, standing at attention and looking at the camera.

"Greetings Commander, I am ready to return to duty." Gabriella declared, also standing at attention.

 _[At ease you two, we can go through protocol later, for now, here is the situation briefing.]_ He declared. _[XCOM HQ has fallen, you two are all that is left of the old staff besides me, Central, and a few others who escaped that I know of. You two are the only remaining cases of XCOM's Gene Modification Therapy and MEC Trooper Augmentation. The enemy has yet to realize you two are down there, my guess is that when the base entered emergency mode, the Priority Power for the Genetics Lab was shut off, while you two were under, and it forced the system to put you into stasis until the power was restored. You two remained in stasis, resting in suspended animation pending the return of priority power. You four are cut off from the rest of us up here, but this also means you are in the prime position to reach the main objective on your floor.]_

They turned to the screen as the camera did and saw that it had changed to show a small schematic of the floor they were on. They were on the far side of the floor with the elevator halfway down the hallway nearby, and a generator symbol on the other side.

 _[We can't hold our position up here much longer against these waves of Seekers and Thin Men the Hierarch Mother is sending against us. We managed to turn on the generator, but the power that we had was instantly drained when you turned on the Genetics Lab. For now, we're stuck on this level until power can be restored and transferred to the elevator again. We're holding for now, but with each wave we destroy, more and more swarm toward us. You four need to reclaim that floor and get to the generator room on the far side, and turn on the generator. Until that generator is online, we can't leave this floor.]_

"Why is that?" Hawkeye asked.

 _[After you two accidentally restored power to the Genetics Lab, the priority power diverted most of the power to that facility. There isn't enough anymore to power the lifts, let alone the ventilation system.]_

" **Why not shut off the facility here, it is no longer needed now?"** Mercy asked in confusion.

 _[Can't, I've tried it, but the Hierarch Mother has changed the codes to tamper with the priority power settings for any of the facilities here.]_ He said, and the schematic changed to a power distribution schematic, showing that over seventy five percent of the power from the generator above was being diverted to the Genetics Lab. _[Until you get that power generator on that floor active, there isn't any other way we can get to you safely. I can't link up to your helmets, they appear to be damaged. Therefore you four are on your own in terms of how to achieve your objective, but your orders stand as follows… First: arm yourselves up, there's a weapon's depot down the hall opposite direction to the generator, you can rearm there. Second: Secure the floor and retake the generator room and power it up. Third: Secure the area around the elevator and await our arrival.]_

"Understood sir!" Perce said.

"Orders received!" Gabriella said.

 _[Just beware of the Hierarch Mother stationing troops down there, once she discovers you are down there, you'll be facing heavy resistance. Expect reinforcements as soon as you encounter any groups of alien enemies. But no matter what you encounter, you must take that generator and get it on, or else what remains of XCOM and indeed humanity's hope for a future, will be lost. Good luck you four.]_

With that the screen turned off, and the camera's recording light turned off as well. "Alright, you heard the Commander's orders." Perce said as he turned around. "Let's move out."

"I will arm myself first!" Gabriella declared as she walked over to the MEC suit.

It took them a few moments to get moving, but once Gabriella had climbed into her suit, and linked up with its systems, she stood up to her full twelve foot height with the only thing 'human' about her being her head. She picked up the massive weapon that easily weighed more than Hawkeye did, and checked the ammo cartridges.

"This weapon is low tiered, by the time I was complete, research into the Railgun was completed and weapons constructed." She declared as she stepped forward, with her huge metal feet clanging each time she took a step. "You are unarmed, we must head to the Weapon's Depot for armor and weapon refit." She turned around to face Hawkeye and Mercy, looking at their weapons as well. "You are underpowered, when we reach the depot, we will rearm you two as well."

"What are you talking about, this weapon's fine!" He said.

"Negative, that weapon is damaged, capable of misfiring, accuracy has been reduced by fifteen percent, damage output by twenty percent. It is insufficient." She declared before looking at Mercy's weapon. "Your weapon is useless, no additional armaments, it is useless for anything besides to soften enemies. We cannot afford to allow you to fail this mission."

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy looked sadly at her weapon, and nodded in understanding. She was indeed 'useless' in her position right now. **"Very well."** She declared, before preparing her weapon for battle anyway.

"Let's get going!" Perce said as he led the way to the door, followed by the clanking of Gabriella, and with Hawkeye and Mercy behind them.

As they reached the door he held up a hand, and motioned for Gabriella to move first.

"Moving!" She declared, and stepped forward, aiming her weapon this way and that way. "Zero Contacts found."

They moved forward while she kept watching the direction of the generator room, but it was so dark that they couldn't see anything. **"Can't see anything."** Mercy hissed as she prepared to turn her weapon light on.

"Don't turn it on!" Perce said. "The enemy might see the light, we must not reveal ourselves until we are fully armed." He quietly turned his head slightly and frowned. "I can see them nearby, we must hurry."

She turned to look at Hawkeye as he turned his head as well, and even raised his hand to his ear, as if trying to enhance his hearing. "I can't hear anything, let alone see them."

"I can see them, not as clearly at this distance, but I can see them alright." He declared, and Mercy saw his eyes looked very different from Hawkeye's.

His pupils were dilating with increased movements, expanding and deflating every second. She figured that because of his Gene Modification, his vision far exceeded her kindred human's, to be able to see in very little light and with such clarity at a distance.

They followed Gabriella as she walked down the hallway, moving from rubble pile to rubble pile in the path, covering their forward position with her weapon. What confused her though was why the past warrior was not taking cover she and the other two humans did while they moved. Then she noticed that her massive profile made it impossible, she was simply too large to hide.

Though despite the precaution they took, moving slowly and with all the subtlety, at least for three of them, as shadows in darkness, they made it to the weapons depot room at the end of the hall. They opened the door to the weapons depot, and walked in one by one, with Gabriella entering last. "Sweet mother of mercy…" Hawkeye whispered as he beheld the cache of weapons.

" **What about my Hierarch Mother is sweet?"** Mercy asked quietly, but she was just as speechless as Hawkeye.

"Figure of speech again." He answered. "Damn Commander… you been holding out on us!"

The room was barely large enough for Gabriella to stand in, but it was all the room she needed to stand up straight in her MEC suit. Because while it wasn't taller than she was, it was wider than five of her suits lined up side by side, for on all three walls in front of them, were lines of weapons, from Beam Rifles, to Plasma Rifles, Laser Rifles, along with their Sniper Rifle, Shotgun, Light Machine Gun and Rocket Launcher variants, hanging from various racks. Sitting in the middle in crates, each labeled appropriately, were piles of grenades ranging from frags to 'Alien', incendiary, mimic beacons, needle grenades, ghost grenades, flashbang grenades and combat stims. In one corner of the room was another pile of crates with labels such as 'scopes', 'Medikits', 'Mind Shields', and 'Chitin Plating'.

Along the wall in another corner were several vests with a label above them reading 'Nano-Fiber Vests', and beneath them were various body armors of varying type, and in the corner opposite was a case with bullet rounds in premade clips with the crate labeled 'Reaper Rounds'. There was even several strange devices that looked like they belonged on the neck and resembled respirators. Yet that wasn't all, behind them hung large weapons, easily meant to be held by MEC's, ranging from the massive gun the MEC warrior now wielded, to far more advanced weapons.

She even saw another row of weapons below the main weapons, which were all the pistol variants she had seen so far in this base. In the absolute back wall was another door labeled 'Munitions Storeroom', and she didn't need to think hard about what could lay behind that door. She could not believe what her eyes were seeing, it was as though this room held all of the resistance force's hopes and dreams, and it alone solved their weapon shortage. There were probably enough weapons in here alone to arm an entire battalion of resistance forces!

And it was as Gabriella had said, compared to hers and Hawkeye's weapons, there was not a single scratch on anything in this room. Each and every weapon looked like it had not been touched in years, still sitting here, waiting to be wielded by XCOM's forces.

" **How did the Commander know about this room?"** She asked Hawkeye, unable to comprehend how their Commander could have known this room existed, and why he didn't try to bring them here sooner.

"I want to know how this room escaped Advent and the aliens as well…" Hawkeye responded in confusion as well.

"When the facility must have fallen under attack, all power changes transferred from secondary and non-essential systems to the defense network." Perce said as he walked over and grabbed one of the suits of armor, a very heavy piece. "When emergency power was activated, all the depot rooms containing our weapons were sealed off and locked down. Rooms like this were sealed off, preventing anyone from accessing them. It's lucky the priority power systems have been altered, otherwise we couldn't have entered here with the magnetic locks up. They are designed to only open when the Commander's 'All Clear' signal is sounded from Mission Control."

"Enough, we have mission to complete." Gabriella said as she turned around and placed her weapon on the rack, before picking up an even heavier weapon and examining it. "Work on the Railgun was indeed finished, this will improve my offensive combat effectiveness by forty five percent." As she finished examining the Railgun, she walked over to one of the crates in the corner beneath the various MEC weapons and opened it. "I have found modules for my MEC Unit, ranging from Squaddie rank to Captain Rank. These will benefit our position more effectively."

"You aren't authorized to use Captain level equipment though, you're only a lieutenant." Perce said as he fitted the armor onto him.

"The base is compromised, we must use whatever means necessary to secure our position and the objective." She answered. "I will attach the Repair Servos module for my MEC, this suit was equipped with various modules and attachments that I do not need to adjust for our position." She declared as she reached down and pulled out several pieces of what looked like armor attachments.

"Here, take your pick of the weaponry." Perce said to her and Hawkeye, getting their attention and pointing at the rack of guns around them.

So for the next few minutes she and Hawkeye examined and chose their weaponry. Since she was more familiar with it, she chose a Plasma Rifle and Plasma Pistol to replace her conventional weapons, and Hawkeye a Plasma Sniper Rifle and Plasma Pistol as well. As for grenades, she chose what she figured would be more helpful to their group, a Medikit and the Flashbang Grenade that she was familiar with. Hawkeye chose a Needle Grenade as well as an Incendiary Grenade.

Both of them took scopes and attached them to their weaponry, while she took one of the Nano-Fiber Vests and equipped it, feeling much safer with the additional armor on her.

Once they were all prepared, with Perce taking an Alloy Cannon, and a Plasma Pistol, while also taking a pair of Mimic Beacons, a Blaster launcher and adding additional armor to himself with the Chitin Plating, they all checked their weapons and made sure they were fully charged.

"Alright, Lieutenant, display a holographic image of our situation." Perce said.

Gabriella nodded and extended her hand, before lights appeared and displayed the floor they were on.

"We are here, at the end of the corridor in the weapon depot, our objective is down the hallway in the opposite direction, the Generator Room." He declared, pointing at the various positions. "There is very little cover between here and there, so we will have to utilize Gabriella's MEC to absorb most enemy fire. We have no idea what the enemy may comprise of, so until we know what we are dealing with, we will assume an arrow formation, with Gabriella in front, myself behind her, and you two on the flanks behind us."

" **But… the Hierarch Mother has the base's facilities at her command… we are outnumbered on all sides!"** She hissed. **"She will not hesitate to throw her forces against us once we are revealed. How can we hope to defeat such numbers with only four… when your Commander had hundreds to hold this base before… and failed to do so?"**

"Failure is not an option!" Gabriella declared. "Calculated failure is not requested, our objectives are clear, and they will be carried out!"

"Indeed, the Commander ordered us to retake this section of the base, so we WILL, retake this section of the base!" Perce said sternly. "Even if most of us die in the process, we will take this base back floor by floor. I don't know what your Hierarch Mother has to throw against us, but we have faced the worst you aliens have thrown against us before, and we have won!" He looked up at her and she saw the ferocity in his eyes. "We beat them before, and we will beat them again! As long as even one XCOM agent still remains in this base, then we have not lost headquarters… and we are still here, so we must defend 'our' base, until our final breath."

"Alright, so let's get this started." Hawkeye said. "The longer we wait, the more forces the Sharks have to deal with. You heard what the Commander said, they can't hold out much longer."

With that, they all stood up and left the room, with Gabriella taking the lead, Perce behind her, and she and Hawkeye in their flanking positions.

They slowly made their way down the hall, but about halfway to the Genetics Lab, they all heard the Hierarch Mother declare over the intercom. **{There you are… I was wondering what had cause the sudden power drain.}** She hissed. **{So you seem to have found some new toys to play with, but even with your new 'relics', they are outdated and useless to you now.}**

Perce looked over at the camera and glared at it, even as it stared at him. "Hierarch Mother, I am Seargent Nez Perce of Squad Wolf!" He declared. "Surrender this base, or you and your forces will be destroyed!"

=XCOM Enemy Unknown Combat Music 5=

 **{Never…}** She hissed back with a chuckle. **{But since you asked so nicely… behold a 'relic' of my own…}**

They all heard a massive roar and turned to see three Mutons, wearing old tech armor, running toward them, being led by a massive berserker.

 **{Though they are primitive of mind, and simple in terms of thought, they serve their purpose as warriors, deemed by the Elders only fit to fight and die. But I have improved their muscle density, to not only make them stronger, but to make them even 'harder' to kill. As for the 'Berserker', not only are they even stronger, but the massive rush of chemicals has blinded them to all but their enemies. Not even 'pain' can stop them, only death can!}**

" **Groaaaaaaaar!"** The three Mutons roared as they stopped to open fire, but the Berserker continued to charge them, screaming in rage as it ran toward them.

"Hostile forces targeted, engaging defensive procedure." Gabriella declared calmly, raising her Railgun and opening fire on the Berserker.

Her weapon charged up and fired a second later, shooting through the Berserker clean through its chest, but that didn't stop the raging monstrosity from continuing to run at them. It leapt at Gabriella and began wrestling with.

"Engaging in close combat!" She declared just as calmly, even as the Berserker screamed in her face, drool and spit flying everywhere.

"Fire on the Mutons!" Perce said, before proceeding to fire on the Mutons.

Mercy nodded and opened fire on the past Mutons, trying her best to ignore the fear she was feeling as they fired on her.

These were nothing like the Mutons she remembered, they were blinded by orders, consumed by their desire to kill, and they were far more menacing than she liked. But as she feared them, she drew courage from Hawkeye, who though was a mere human, stood his ground and returned fire without showing any fear in his eye.

As for Perce, he was calmly taking very precise aim, shooting the Mutons in the head one after the other. He felled the first one with two direct shots through the cranium, before moving on to finish the one that she had fired on. Hawkeye managed to down his last Muton, and Gabriella pulled her arm back as she shoved the Berserker off of her, and slammed it in the face with a powerful uppercut propelled by propulsion units.

She could hear the neck snapping as it keeled over and lay dead on the floor. Yet their act was only answered with more screams of rage as even 'more' Mutons and another Berserker raged toward them.

"Additional contacts spotted!" Gabriella declared.

"Launching Mimic Beacon!" Perce said, taking the grenade he had picked up and tossing it.

It landed and a holographic image of himself appeared later, causing the Mutons and Berserker slight confusion before they began firing and attacking the holographic image. While they were temporarily distracted, Gabriella got down on one leg and launched a grenade at the group.

The explosion that took place severely damaged their enemies, but after the hologram went down, they turned their attention on them and began firing. Yet once again, Gabriella stood her ground and simply shielded her head, which was the only part of her exposed that was 'human', enduring all of their attacks as the plasma bolts ricochet and battered against her MEC suit's armored plating.

"Taking damage, moderate damage to armored plating!" Gabriella reported calmly, as if taking four sources of plasma bolts to her body was nothing to worry about.

"Take them out!" Perce ordered, swinging around with his rifle and returned fire, moments later Gabriella stopped shielding herself and open fired with her Railgun.

"Target destroyed." Gabriella said as she blasted the Beserker before he could reach them, then shielded herself from plasma bolts. "Taking damage from enemy targets."

"Xeno taken care of!" Hawkeye yelled triumphantly as he shot down one of the Mutons that she had targeted as well, finishing it off as she reloaded.

"Gah." Perce yelled as he took a plasma bolt to his leg and arm, but instead of screaming as Sharptooth had before, he merely returned fire while leaning heavily on his uninjured leg.

Mercy could only marvel at XCOM's past warriors as she obeyed the order, they were far different from the soldiers she was familiar with. They fought so fiercely yet with an absolute that none of the others displayed. While her and the other sharks would get excited or even, in human terms, 'cocky', during a fight, these two kept their emotions in check. Even when she was fearfully trying to remain calm, staring down the mindless brutes that seemed to fear none of them, they were perfectly calm and clear in their orders and duties.

Only Hawkeye was more professional then her as she tried to regain her focus, just as a Plasma Bolt shot past her head, barely avoiding killing her.

It only took their group a few moments before the new wave of enemies were finished, but even 'then' more showed up, and it took even slightly longer to bring them down. Though it was really Gabriella and Perce who defeated them, thanks to their superior firepower and genetic modifications aiding their combat effectiveness.

=XCOM Enemy Unknown – Hidden Movement=

 **{Impressive…}** The Hierarch Mother declared over the intercom, but she was sure she wasn't complimenting them on purpose.

" **My Hierarch Mother is planning something…"** She hissed quietly to them. **"This was not her only force here, I am sure of it…"**

"Then we proceed as normal." Perce declared. "Let's go."

"Activating repair servos…" Gabriella declared as well, as tiny mechanical arms barely an inch long appeared across her metal frame, and began welding and repairing the damage her body had taken.

"Do you require the Medikit?" Hawkeye asked Perce as they walked.

"No, I don't need it." He said as he began walking normally.

Mercy glanced down and saw, to her astonishment, that the skin which had been damaged on his arm, was already mending itself. New skin was forming, and the scabbed portion was slowly vanishing with each passing second.

" **How are you… doing that?"** She asked him quietly.

Perce looked back at her, and she saw his pupils dilating rapidly again, obviously looking past her as well as 'at' her, evidence of his genetic modification. "Adaptive Bone Marrow, thanks to my genetic modification, I can heal myself without needing to waste precious field Medikits. As long as the wound isn't fatal or breaks off portions of my limbs, I can easily repair the damaged portions of my body. It provides me an advantage in battle, as I don't need to fear suffering permanent harm, and it also allows me to take additional damage that my allies cannot afford."

Mercy was very impressed at that, such modifications were not unknown to Advent, but she wasn't aware of these extreme modifications ever being implemented. They certainly had their advantages. Not only could Gabriella not worry about damage to her metal body, so long as her suit could repair itself, but Perce could heal wounds that would otherwise be damaging to another soldier? It was no wonder XCOM's forces in the past were so powerful, with such forces under his control, the Commander must have been a force to be reckoned with.

"You're basically a super soldier aren't you?" Hawkeye asked quietly. "Everything we can do, you can do ten times better."

" **Is there anything you two cannot do?"** She asked them.

Perce was about to respond, but he quickly signaled them all to stop as he looked in front of them. He looked at the walls, and especially the vents, before he gave Gabriella some signals with his hands.

She nodded and entered overwatch, and moments later she and Hawkeye followed suit, knowing the signal because it was the same one the Commander gave them constantly through their helmets. She looked around nervously eyeing the various vents as well, wondering what he saw that could have triggered such caution from him.

Then as she watched, he took the Blaster launcher from him back, shouldered it, and aimed it directly in front of them.

Then with a mass of smoke being expelled behind him, he launched a rocket directly in front of their position, destroying everything within several feet of the explosion, which consisted of the entire corridor and the surrounding walls.

" **Kyarawawaaaa!"** Several yells of pain screamed loudly.

As the smoke cleared Mercy beheld the damage he had wrought, as among various piles of rubble, broken beams, and damaged hallway, were portions of Thin Men. She could even see one hand twitching ever so slightly, the body it was attached to at least several feet away.

"Seven down, more to kill." He declared.

Both she and Hawkeye gaped.

"No more contacts spotted, proceeding forward." Gabriella declared, moving forward with Perce following behind, and Hawkeye and Mercy following suit.

(Hawkeye's Pov)

They continued down the hallway toward the generator room, all the while Hawkeye was speechless at what happened. He had not even so much as heard the vents rattling, and in the darkness, with the only sources of light being their gun's lights, he definitely didn't see anything. Yet Perce, with only a split second's glance, not only noticed the ambush, but even took the appropriate means to completely destroy it before the ambush could be sprung.

Earlier he and his fellow Sharks had to expend several grenades just to 'stun' a group of Thin Men, not counting Mercy entangling one just to give him a chance to shoot it. Yet he obliterated an entire ambush without any effort on his part.

 _*Those genetic modifications sure are helpful.*_ He thought privately. "Those genetic modifications of yours sure are handy to have around…" He whispered to him.

"Do not go through with the procedure." Perce said instantly. "It is not undertaken lightly, for to become modified means to forsake that which you would take lightly, but I treasure greatly now that it is lost to me."

" **What do you mean?"** Mercy asked beside him. **"With such modifications, you are almost unstoppable…"**

"You must work hard to achieve what I have gained by tampering with my body." He answered. "When I forsook my humanity, I gave up the life I used to have, the body I used to have…"

"It was necessary Wolf Squad Member." Gabriella declared as her servos stopped repairing. "We of Falcon Squad all gave up our humanity to become more powerful warriors. Though we are more machine then you, we are no less warrior than we were before, only we are more powerful now because of it."

"Yes, as a Warden Wolf, I sacrificed my humanity as well to protect our home." He said as well. "But it seems as though, that sacrifice was in vain, our home lies in ruin, our planet is overrun apparently, and our organization all but destroyed…"

"Well with you two joining us, that can change." Hawkeye said confidently. "You two can rip apart Advent Forces no sweat.

=XCOM Enemy Unknown – Combat Music 8=

Perce nodded again, but then swung his Alloy Cannon to the side and opened fire. Instantly his shot obliterated something that decloaked later into a pile of metal and liquid. Hawkeye recognized it as a 'Seeker', and instantly went defensive.

"Gabriella, six inches on your right, now!" Perce declared.

Without even giving any indication that she heard him, she obeyed, pulling her arm back, igniting her propulsion units on her fist, and punched the air directly to her right. A second later another Seeker was slammed into the wall, creating a huge dent where it hung, limp and destroyed.

"Mercy, behind you!" Perce yelled.

Hawkeye responded faster than she did, he raised his Plasma Sniper Rifle and opened fire, shooting a very clean hole into the third Seeker. It appeared as it fell to the floor, a broken heap.

" **Thank you…"** She hissed at him, and for a moment he thought he had seen a blush on her face.

"We're not done yet!" He screamed as he looked around.

Suddenly more Seekers appeared, in front and behind them, but at a much further distance. Instead of attempting to sneak up on them, half formed protective shields, and the other half began firing 'through' their fellow's shields.

"Targeting hostiles!" Gabriella said, taking fire and absolutely obliterating one of the Seekers protecting with its shield.

"Firing!" Perce yelled as he opened fire with his Alloy Cannon again, blasting a second Seeker.

Meanwhile he and Mercy fired on the ones behind them, and unlike with the laser weapons, their plasma weapons managed to break through the barriers, shattering the defensive cover the Seekers had, and without their protection, the Seekers were too feeble to withstand their firepower.

"More contacts spotted!" Gabriella declared, and in front of them four more Seekers appeared, with two Thin Men accompanying them.

"Launch the Needle Grenade!" Perce ordered. "Get behind Gabriella!"

Hawkeye nodded as he prepared the Needle Grenade, and as he threw it, both he and Mercy took cover behind the MEC Trooper with Perce.

He figured that one of the Thin Men had tried to pick up and throw it somewhere else, before it could go off, but he heard an explosion and several ricocheting pings, accompanied by screams of agony. He looked around and saw that the entire corridor was littered with tiny needles, and the two Thin Men's bodies resembled oversized porcupines. Yet while they were obviously dead, the four Seekers deployed shields and began firing plasma bolts at them from a distance.

"Damage is moderate, returning fire!" Gabriella declared, opening fire with her Railgun.

Moments later the corridor was littered with broken Seeker bodies, as they all returned fire and destroyed the new threat before them.

 **{Impossible… they're more heavily armed then I had imagined!}** The Hierarch Mother said in a panicked voice, while their group continued on toward the generator room, which was directly ahead of them now.

Yet even as she was panicking, more Seekers began appearing behind them, as well as the thunderous roar of a Berserker. "Lieutenant, keep them occupied while we seize control of the generator room!" Perce ordered as he led the way while Gabriella turned to face the new threats.

"Orders received!" She answered, and began firing her Railgun again.

As he, Mercy, and Perce ran forward, they burst through the generator room door and over to the terminal before them. Hawkeye began looking at it and punching in commands while Perce and Mercy covered him. All the while they heard yells of agony and small explosions taking place behind them, evidence that Gabriella was holding her ground against the new threats.

" **How did you know about ambush?"** Mercy asked as she panted, having slithered quickly to keep up with them. **"And how are you so… accurate… you almost never miss targets compared to us."**

"My skin has been altered so I have a Bioelectric Skin, even if I can't see my enemy visually, my skin can still detect them within a short distance from their faint electrical signals, whether organic or inorganic." He answered quietly. "My chest organs also has an Adrenal Neurosympathy modification to them, which pumps additional adrenalin in more controlled bursts as well as emits a special pheromone from my breathing. In short, as I kill more enemies, I become more effective at shooting. The pheromones will affect you guys too, soon you'll become more accurate as well, but it won't modify your genes, it just makes your senses slightly sharper.

=XCOM Enemy Unknown HQ Act 2=

While he explained, Hawkeye punched in the last command, and the generator began whirling to life. Moments later, like a giant rumbling from its long slumber, the generator came to life and power began to pump from it and into the systems.

As the generator began coming to life, Mercy slithered over to him to look at the terminal as well, but he could tell she had another reason for being there with him. **"Thank you again… for protecting me."** She hissed quietly. **"You protected me back there, when the Seekers tried to ambush us…"**

"It's alright, I just reacted faster that's all." He said, though he began to feel slightly embarrassed at what she said.

" **Maybe… but that is now… twice that you saved my life."** She hissed warmly to him. **"You spared my life before, even if Commander ordered you to. And now you protect me when my life in danger."** As she spoke he glanced at her from the side and saw her smiling just as warmly as she spoke to him. **"You are good human… Hawkeye… first good human I ever met."**

"I guess… nobody else was nice to you?" He asked her privately.

" **Not now that I realize it all lie."** She hissed just as quietly to him. **"They only nice, because they believe lies… but you know truth… you know where I'm from. Yet even so… you are still nice to me… when others wanted me dead, you wanted to let me live."**

He nodded and looked back at the terminal. "I just couldn't murder someone who was so frightened for her life…" He said back to her. "I'll kill if I must, but I'll never murder a soul… even if it's an alien soul."

Mercy placed a scaly hand on his and gripped it slightly, showing her gratitude for that statement. **"Thank you… that means… much to me."** She hissed.

They separated as lights began to turn on suddenly, terminals around the room came online, surges of electricity wrapped around the generator and traveled along various wires connected, and the whirling of the generator became almost unbearably loud.

Suddenly system specs began appearing on the terminal and Hawkeye groaned as he saw that, yet more power was being drained from the generators to 'other' systems. True more power had been transferred to the elevator, allowing the Commander and the rest of the Sharks to take it to their level, but there was still not enough to turn on the ventilation system.

"I hope the Commander has good news when he can make contact with us." He says in frustration. "Two generators down, but there's still not enough for the ventilation system."

 _[Don't worry about it Hawkeye, it just means our plans have changed yet again.]_ They heard the Commander declare over the intercom. _[Nice job you guys, not only did you get the generator on, but you've poked the Hierarch Mother. She's been diverting more and more forces toward your position, weakening the forces she sent against the Sharks up here.]_

They watched as a camera turned to look at them high above.

 _[Alright, your orders still stand, now that you've got that room under control, take control of the corridor and hold the elevator until the Sharks can regroup with you down there. Right now they're fighting their way to the elevator, it's a mess up here, Seekers and Thin Men stalling us for every inch of ground. But I highly doubt this is all the Hierarch Mother's got for us. I'm detecting the Cybernetics Lab door being broken into from the inside, and by the looks of the camera feed I can see in there, it's not good. You've got some company heading your way again, mechanical company by the looks of it. Just hold the line you four, reinforcements will be there as soon as they can.]_

"Understood sir!" Perce declared, just as the camera's record light turned off.

They all left the generator room and back into the corridor, with him and Mercy preparing their weapons in case Gabriella needed assistance. Yet when they went out, they saw nothing but smoking piles of metal and a dead Muton with its face smashed halfway into its skull, as well as a very clear hole in its chest.

Gabriella herself was busy reloading her Railgun and performing repair duty on her suit.

"You eliminated all of them by yourself?" Hawkeye asked, thoroughly amazed by the MEC soldier's capabilities.

"Falcon Squad motto, all enemies of mankind fall, no exception." She answered. "Ordered to hold them off, orders have been followed, we may now proceed to our next objective: securing this floor and the elevator."

As she walked forward with Perce, he shook his head and almost chuckled before he and Mercy followed behind them again.

Then just as they reached the elevator they passed by earlier, they heard a huge wrenching groan of metal in the distance.

Upon hearing it they all took up defensive positions, using the rubble that Perce had created earlier when he used his Blaster Cannon. As they looked down in the direction of the Cybernetics Lab, weapons primed and ready, they could hear a whirling sound that wasn't the same whirling as the generator.

=XCOM Enemy Unknown, Combat Music 1=

Then Hawkeye spotted it, floating toward them was a single metallic 'disk', emanating light as it rotated toward them. Behind it were a pair of floating 'drones', each of which stayed just far enough behind the disk to be out of harm's way but close enough to assist. Behind the first disc came a second, accompanied by its own pair of drones, and behind that one came a third accompanied by its own drones too!

 **{This façade has gone on long enough, you fools have tried my patience for the last time!}** The Hierarch Mother declared in an angry voice. **{Though they are considered obsolete by Advent's standards, these 'Cyberdiscs' are more than enough to deal with you foolish XCOM rats. Thanks to their almost symbiotic relationship with their repair drones, their artificial intelligence has lessened, making them easily manipulated as they care not for anything but each other now. Enhanced with more powerful armor, greater weaponry, and more effective tools to use at its disposal, along with the Drone's repairing capabilities, these weapons are far more effective than when we used them twenty five years ago!}**

"Open fire!" Perce ordered, before leveling his Alloy Cannon and firing off a scatter shot against the first disc.

Hawkeye and Mercy obeyed and fired their weapons, yet the disk's narrow profile made it hard for them to hit it. But thanks to Perce's more accurate eyes, he scored a direct shot on the disc, damaging its armor heavily and causing it to stop moving. Yet as it came to a stop, the drones fired several beams of energy at the disc, and as they watched the damaged sections slowly began to repair themselves.

"The drones will repair whatever damage we deal, we must destroy them before the discs will fall!" Gabriella declared as she lowered herself, and fired another grenade into the group of machines once they became bunched up.

The grenade exploded and damaged all three of the discs, yet only half of the drones were destroyed while the other half pulled away just in time.

"Negative confirmation on necessary targets!" Gabriella declared.

"Hawkeye, focus fire on the support units, take out those drones!" Perce ordered as he reloaded his weapon.

Hawkeye nodded and prepped his sniper rifle, aiming carefully before opening fire. His shot scored a direct hit, destroying the drone in one shot. Yet upon being destroyed the remaining two drones took cover behind the rubble, while the discs backed up to protect them.

He watched as the discs suddenly unfurled, revealing themselves to be spider like in appearance, before they opened fire on their positions. He took cover from the plasma bolts, but Gabriella became the focus of their attacks, and this time their enemy wasn't fooling around or pulling any punches.

The two discs on the side fired plasma rounds, while the third lowered what appeared to be a grenade into its metallic 'tail', spun backward and then forward, launching the grenade like a catapult.

Gabriella activated some kind of energy shield to protect her, but even with the shield the damage she sustained from the explosive and plasma bolts had badly damaged her MEC suit. She was clearly not going to last much longer.

"Damage extreme, repair necessary!" She said in a slightly panicked, but still very calm voice.

Perce readied his weapon, before charging forward toward the discs. As he reached them he aimed his weapon quickly, fired off one clip, used one hand to reload it, and fired a second round into the target. Instantly the Cyberdisc coiled up into its saucer mode, but began sparking and shaking as it did. Moments later it exploded and the other two Cyberdiscs recoiled from the explosion, entering their saucer modes as well.

"Target them now, while they are weakened!" He ordered.

Mercy opened fire alongside Hawkeye, and together they brought a second Cyberdisc down, but the third, now being repaired by the two drones, unfurled itself and open fired on Perce. Without cover he took the full brunt, and collapsed to one knee as he took damage to his chest and arms.

"Hurt… but still moving!" He declared as Gabriella stood up and aimed her Railgun now.

She let loose with her shot and obliterated the remaining Cyberdisc with a single round from her weapon. As it did with its fellows, the Cyberdisc exploded and took the two weak Drones with it.

Yet their trouble wasn't over as they heard a metallic clanking approaching from the direction of the Cybernetics room.

 _-Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank-_

As they watched Hawkeye saw what he had thought he'd never have to see down here.

 _-Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank-_

It stood roughly ten feet tall, walked on two metallic legs, with a heavily armored 'head' in the center. With each clank of its metal feet the bipedal robot marched for them, alone and intimidating.

 _-Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank-_

"Sectopod…" He whispered.

Even though it was an older version of the Advent Sectopod, the sheer shape and image of it appearing from the shadows was enough to put it even 'higher' on the danger rating compared to it. It looked far more intimidating, far more 'alien', and far more deadly than the Advent Sectopod he was familiar with.

Comparing the two now, he preferred the Advent one over this one, at least the Advent one looked more like a walking 'rifle'.

 **{As an artificial creation of the Elders, this mighty weapon of war was created to supplement what the Elders called 'failures'. It was built with but a single purpose, to destroy all those it was sent against. With greater armor and even greater firepower, this is by far the mightiest weapon ever to 'grace' your base!}** The Hierarch Mother said over the intercom.

"We need to take out that Sectopod before it takes us out!" Perce yelled as he took cover behind Gabriella, just as she activated her shield again while her suit repaired itself. "Focus fire on it now!"

Everyone took aim and fired on it, but even with the combined power of a Plasma Rifle, a Plasma Sniper Rifle, a Railgun, and an Alloy Cannon, the tough armor of the Sectopod was barely dented. Then it opened up a slot in its center head to reveal a narrow cannon, which fired a steady beam of plasma that barely missed Mercy as she ducked just in time.

"The armor is too tough!" Hawkeye yelled.

"All armor has a breaking point, continue firing!" Gabriella declared as she readied her gun yet again and fired her last clip.

They repeated their attacks, concentrating on the section of the Sectopod that was damaged, but still the hulking monstrosity moved toward them before firing yet again. This time it aimed for Hawkeye, and he barely ducked in time to avoid having his head blasted clean off.

Realizing that they weren't scratching the armor much, they all hunkered down and reloaded their weapons, while Gabriella activated her shield again, allowed her servos to repair, and reloaded her Railgun.

Then the Sectopod took one large step and opened up a new weapon, and let loose with several rockets that swarmed and destroyed their defensive cover.

Mercy was flung backward and lay crumpled on the floor, mostly unharmed but dazed by the blast. He himself was also flung away, and his injuries included new bruises on his elbows and face. He looked up to see it targeting them again and firing another beam laser, this time on Gabriella who stood before it.

Her suit took the full brunt of the attack, and while her shield absorbed most of the damage, some of it broke through and tore into her arm's armor plating. It went limp while the servos repairing went into overtime trying to keep ahead of the damage.

"Extreme damage taken, right arm severely damaged." She declared, but her left arm pulled back. "Taking close quarter offensive measures!"

She let loose with her propulsion units once again, and smacked the Sectopod right in the middle of its head, and it was flung backward to land on its side. Suddenly it began sparking and shaking, and then exploded just as heavily as the Blaster Cannon that Perce had launched.

(The Commander's PoV, still in the vents)

 **{Impossible… this doesn't make any sense!}** The Hierarch Mother hissed as he watched everyone wearily get up through the camera. **{It should not make sense… yet what I see cannot be denied!}**

 _[For someone who claims to be a 'master tactician', as you say you are by learning from me…]_ The Commander answered over the intercom, having finally cracked the code to communicate with her directly, but still having encrypted his signal to keep her from finding him. _[You seem to have failed to learn the most important lesson of warfare: Prepare for the 'unknown' element.]_

 **{Commander, you cannot possibly believe that your pathetic forces can hold out here!}** She answered back, hissing with just a hint of glee in her voice. **{Your XCOM HQ has fallen, your forces are scattered, and your resistance is nothing but a shadow of its former self!}**

 _[And yet for all that you have done to destroy us, for all your clever planning and preparations to stop us, year after year we continue to resist, we continue to fight… and we still have yet to die!]_ He shot back. _[You may have battered and weakened my Sharks, you may have devastated and emptied our munitions, but as long as we live then you have yet to defeat us!]_

Then he watched as the Sharks line up near the elevator, assuming defensive positions while waiting for it to rise to their level.

 _[And now we're regrouping… you had us on the ropes for a moment you snake, but my Sharks have broken through your lines up there, and my forces down here have withstood your attacks. You're running out of options, and I know my right hand is going to have a few questions for you… once we find you.]_

 **{We'll see about that… my mentor… we shall see…}** She hissed quietly, but also with a hint of admiration in her voice.

He ended the transmission before he could be traced, and heard several scuttles around the vents echoing in the distance.

 _[Great… out of the fire, through the oven, and now swan diving into a volcano…]_ He grunted in frustration.


	13. Chapter 13

[Vow of the Watchful Falcon]

[We are XCOM's Squad Falcon, mightiest of all the squads, the bravest of the brave, where only the few and proud dare join.]

[In ancient times, Greek warriors known as 'Spartans' lived and died by the sword, from a young age they were trained as warriors, forsaking all pleasures of the body and mind in favor of the sword. Only in battle could they find their deaths as they stood shoulder to shoulder, brother to brother.]

[We of Squad Falcon take up this ancient oath, and pledge not only our bodies, but our souls as well to the cause of protecting our home. For us, our bodies are nothing more than tools, extensions of the weapon we call 'The Warrior'. So it is that we'll choose to embrace that which our fellow man would call, inhuman.]

[We care not for what becomes of our bodies, as long as our spirit remains, we will forever be Falcons, soaring through the skies as we strike upon our enemies with our sharpened talons!]

=Chapter 13, Failure of the Commander=

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy stood watch with Puppy outside of the weapons depot while Hawkeye and the other Sharks and the two 'Relics', as Puppy called them, loaded up the crates with all of the weapons and munitions they had found.

"I can't believe I have to sit out here and stand guard, while everyone else gets to pick new guns to use!" She complained bitterly as she watched the corridor, yet her voice was very jittery.

" **It is not your fault… Commander said room was off limits to Rookies and below!"** Mercy hissed quietly, remembering how Perce and Gabriella stopped the young agent from entering with the other Sharks.

=Ten minutes earlier=

"What do you mean I can't go in?" Puppy asked as they untied the rope she was using to carry the cargo containers behind her.

"All weapon depots are restricted to unauthorized personal!" Gabriella declared, looking like a giant compared to the small Puppy. "Only Corporals and above are allowed entry!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Puppy almost yelled.

"Sorry Pup, rules are rules!" Sharptooth said as she walked in, though she wasn't as 'cocky' as she used to be, and it was no wonder as her armor had new plasma burns on it.

In fact, all of the Sharks had received numerous plasma burns since they last saw them. The constant attacks from the Hierarch Mother had increased upon losing her and Hawkeye from the group. Only after they had been discovered did they lesson, but to the point where they had exhausted their stores of grenades, and were reduced to using only their laser weaponry. Even Puppy had started running low on ammunition for her rifle.

Thus the reason why they had made their first stop on the new level to the weapons depot, both to refill on their stockpile of grenades, and to make sure nothing was left behind.

Mercy understood why they wanted to take everything in the room, she didn't want to come back here to pick up anything left behind.

=Present=

"I really hope I don't have to carry those containers again… things are a deathtrap walking!" Puppy complained as she readjusted her weapon's aim.

" **At least Commander tries to keep you safe."** Mercy reminded her.

"Yea, woopdiedoo, he straps a rope to me and has me carry a bunch of cargo containers filled with explosives and guns." Puppy declared in a very sour tone. "If that's 'keeping me safe', I don't want to see him put me in a dangerous situation."

 _[I can hear you Puppy.]_ The Commander declared over their coms.

Another thing that happened when the Sharks regrouped with them, was Eagleeye fixing their headsets so that they could communicate with the Commander again. Since Eagleeye was their Technician, he had the necessary skills required to at least temporarily fix their headsets so the Commander could communicate with them again.

Yet despite being reconnected to them, they had heard very little from him beside his communicated orders.

"Alright… that's everything in the depot!" Hawkeye declared as he left the room, followed by T-Rex, Eagleeye, Sharptooth, Falcon, Perce and Gabriella. "These crates aint got any more room in them."

"Which means it's time we turned on the power and clear the path for us to leave this base!" Sharptooth said as she held up her laser rifle, with additional plating for her armor.

"Here Puppy, some new ammo for you to use!" Eagleeye said as he tossed her several clips of 'Reaper Rounds'. "Should be more useful than the standard ammo you've got girl."

"Sweet!" Puppy said as she instantly emptied her rifle and rearmed it with the new Reaper Rounds.

 _[Alright, enough stalling Sharks… something's going on in these vents and I don't like the sound of it!]_ The Commander declared in a very 'quiet' voice. _[Start heading to the elevator, Puppy, you're on Cargo duty.]_

"Not sweet…" Puppy complained as Perce handed her the rope for the four cargo containers.

As they made their way to the elevator, it was once again time to decide who would take it down and who would stay with Puppy to protect the containers. Despite their 'obvious' capabilities, the Commander ordered all of the Sharks, including Mercy, to go first. Inside the elevator they pushed the only remaining button left to push, the floor below theirs.

Mercy asked the Commander why they didn't take the elevator to the floor above, but his only response was, _[There's nothing we can do on that floor.]_

=XCOM Enemy Unkown, Hidden Movement=

The elevator slowed to a stop and opened up, but instead of a large lit room, everything was cast in shadow and darkness. The only thing darker than the outlines of what appeared to be debris, were the shadows behind the debris created by their weapon's lights as they each aimed for 'anything' that might be a threat.

 _[Hold up… something's wrong.]_ The Commander whispered. _[The cameras are blind in that room, I can't see anything outside of the small area of light you guys are making with your flashlights. There should be lights on, there's plenty of power for the lights to be on, but for some reason they aren't working!]_

Mercy hissed nervously as she aimed her light up with the others, and saw that the 'lights' the Commander spoke of, had been destroyed.

" **Plasma bolts did not do that…"** She hissed quietly to her allies. **"They look like they've been smashed…"**

"I don't hear anything…" Hawkeye whispered quietly. "Falcon… you sense 'anything'?"

Falcon seemed to be concentrating before he nodded. "I sense life around us… we are 'not' alone here…"

 _[Alright… move into positions, but stay sharp… wait until the others are there.]_

As he finished speaking, he gave them positions close to the debris nearest the elevator door to hold by. Once they were ready, the elevator closed and began to head upstairs again for the rest of their allies.

Yet for Mercy each second that ticked put her at unease, there was something about the air… a foul 'smell' that hit her nostrils and touched at her tongue that made her increasingly agitated. There was just something 'wrong' about the room they were in, that she did not like.

"Ugh… what is that smell…" Sharptooth said over the coms as they heard the elevator coming down again.

"I don't know, but I don't like it." T-Rex said back.

"Do you smell it Mercy?" Hawkeye asked her from her left.

She nodded with a wary hiss. **"Yes… and I do not like it either."** She replied. **"The air is foul… and it grows fouler with each moment."**

Seconds later the elevator arrived and Gabriella stepped out, it was a wonder she managed to fit inside, but Mercy noticed she had to crawl to get in. "Ugh… what rolled over and died in here?" Puppy asked quietly as she moved forward with Perce and Gabriella flanking her, weapons ready for anything.

 _[No clue… but for now, keep moving forward, cautiously!]_ The Commander declared. _[The last generator we can reach, the Thermo Generator across this room should provide enough power to turn on the ventilation system to clear the path out. If we can just reach it and turn it on, we can get out of here.]_

Slowly they began moving forward, with Perce and Gabriella taking the lead at his orders. All of them were in bad shape for the most part, T-Rex and Falcon were sporting severe plasma burns on their arms, Eagleeye was walking with a limp and was heavily breathing, Sharptooth seemed to be using more strength holding her weapon, and her kindred human was also walking with a limp in his step. Puppy was fidgeting with her weapon every few steps, looking around for any signs of enemies, and she herself felt her scales aching in pain.

Only Perce and Gabriella seemed to be fine, thanks to Gabriella's MEC repairing itself, and Perce's regenerative abilities.

"Hold up…" Perce declared.

They all aimed their lights at something he was looking at, and saw it was one of the Sectoids they had encountered earlier. Mercy saw that it appeared to be dead.

"Something's not right here…" T-Rex said quietly. "Getting a bad vibe in this room…"

"I don't know what's going on here… all I know is, we didn't kill that Sectoid, and it didn't die from plasma bolts or laser fire, and especially not normal bullets." Perce said calmly.

 _[I can tell… for now keep moving…]_ The Commander said. _[This all seems… familiar somehow…]_

"Please tell me this isn't another ambush!" Puppy whispered as she moved on with them.

Mercy was in agreement, but unlike Puppy's frail hope, she recognized that something was off about this room, especially after they moved around a particularly large pile of debris blocking their path. Then their lights revealed yet 'more' corpses, Sectoids, Thin Man, Muton… and even a Berserker.

There were at least twelve corpses surrounding them.

"Something's not right here…" T-Rex said yet again. "Who did all of this?"

 _[Hold right there!]_ The Commander said quickly.

They all obeyed, and became very nervous when he didn't say anything else.

"Commander… what is going on in this room?" Hawkeye asked.

"C… C… Commander!" Puppy stuttered fearfully as her light shook while she pointed it at a Thin Man corpse. "I th… th… think that corpse just moved!"

They all trained their weapons on the corpse in question, but despite all watching it, it remained as motionless as the others.

As Mercy watched and glanced around, that 'smell' from before hit her nostrils, and something about it agitated her even more. It was like something in the back of her mind was telling her to run, or to be on guard. Yet as she looked around at all of the corpses, nothing stood out or made her feel on edge even more so than she was.

But that smell she kept on 'smelling', would not go away, in fact it was even 'stronger' here than near the elevator.

 _[Wait a moment… corpses… unexplained corpses…]_ The Commander began saying. _[The 'scuttling' sound from before… the lights being destroyed…]_

As they listened to him talk to himself, Mercy happened to chance over one of the corpses, and for just a moment, she thought she'd saw its arms move. But the moment she went back to it, it was as motionless as it was before.

 _[Sharks, shoot the corpses, NOW!]_ He suddenly ordered over the coms.

=XCOM Enemy Unknown – Combat Music 8=

Instantly everyone began opening fire on the corpses around them, burning plasma and laser holes into the bodies. But the moment they opened fire, the corpses suddenly began rising up and screeching horribly at them.

"WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS!?" Puppy screamed in fear as she emptied her clip into one Muton corpse, and it merely lumbered at her.

" **Why do these corpses live?"** Mercy screeched in horror as these 'things' began to lumber toward them, moaning and growling with each step they took.

They began emptying clip after clip, draining charge after charge, yet despite how much fire they used the corpses would not stop. Soon they were all but on top of them, only three had been 'killed'.

"THEY JUST DON'T DIE!" Sharptooth yelled as she blasted one corpse in the head, yet its only response was to reach out and try to grab her.

T-Rex and Perce leveled their Alloy Cannons and blasted two of their corpses, shooting holes into their bodies and blowing them away, yet more corpses lumbered toward them. _[Incendiary Grenades, now!]_ The Commander ordered.

They nodded and prepped grenades, before tossing them into the nearest group.

The grenades exploded into a ball of fire, erupting in the midst of the 'horde' on one side and obliterating them in a wave of fire, leaving nothing but smoking remains. Yet the horde as a whole continued toward them, and now one was close enough to Puppy that it was grappling with her.

"Get… off me!" Puppy screamed in terror as it tried to get at her, but she shoved her weapon's barrel into its mouth and opened fire.

But still it did not die!

"We can't stop theeeeem!" Hawkeye screamed as he backed away, as a pair of Thin Man corpses walked steadily toward him, almost unaffected by the plasma bolts he was shooting into them.

Only Gabriella and Perce seemed to be holding their own, yet while Gabriella easily blasted one corpse with her weapon, she had to punch another to prevent it from attacking her head, the only part of her body that was human. Perce, after throwing his grenade, had to resort to his pistol to keep firing after his Alloy Cannon was emptied.

Mercy was ordered to use her acidic venom again, but even as she unhooked her jaw and spat it at the Sectoid corpse in front of her, it ignored the melting skin of its face, preferring to continue lumbering toward her at a slow pace. **"Nothing works on them!"** She screeched as she realigned her jaw.

"There's too many of them!" Eagleeye yelled as he sent them an image of 'more' corpses, slowly walking toward them from behind.

All of the bodies were Sectoids, Thin Man, or even Muton, and all of them were lumbering at their own speeds toward where the Sharks were surrounded.

Then they all heard a loud bang above them, and saw a ventilation door open up. Then she saw the Commander's Gremlin float in, a mechanical claw holding an old human styled pistol in it. He fired the pistol at the first corpse in front of her, aiming directly at the head and bringing it down in a single hit. The next he hit again was in front of Hawkeye, shooting again at the head and bringing it down. The third one he fired at was the one Puppy was screaming in terror at, and with a single shot exploded the head.

(Commander's PoV)

 _[Open the grenade container now!]_ He ordered.

Instantly Perce, still firing his pistol, opened the container and revealed the grenades. He emptied what was left of his pistol and killed off the remaining 'Zombies' nearest his squad, and then flew down to the container, dropped the gun, and grabbed a Mimic Beacon. He turned it on, tossed it, and watched as a holographic XCOM soldier appeared.

Instantly all of the Zombies behind them turned and began lumbering toward the new target, just as he'd hoped.

Once they began moving he pulled a pair of Incendiary Grenades out, primed them, and floated over the horde before dropping them one at a time.

Seconds later they exploded, incinerating the horde as a whole, and ending the Zombie crisis, but he knew it wasn't over yet.

 _[Watch out Sharks, that wasn't the end of it!]_ He declared, heading back to a nearby vent, but before he could reach it, the door was pushed forward and out came his worst fear come to life.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

Hawkeye saw an insect like Alien that he was very familiar with, yet it was 'smaller' than he remembered it was, and not nearly as imposing as the creature he knew. But it was unmistakably the predecessor to the swarming Cryssalid that he and his fellow Sharks were familiar with.

 **{To coin a human phrase, if it is not broken, do not fix it… so it is with my beloved pet Cryssalids!}** The Hierarch Mother declared over the intercom. **{Faster and more maneuverable than you remember, these mindless hunters are nothing but monstrosities to you! But to them, you are the perfect 'bodies' to carry their 'young'! They have but three objectives in their existence even now, to kill… to breed… and to die!}**

As he watched more Cryssalids jumped from the vents beneath the first one, first there was one, and now he and the Sharks were staring down five Cryssalids. More banging noise confirmed yet 'more' Cryssalids dropping behind and around them.

"Oh my god!" Sharptooth whispered as she reached for her Arc Blade. "There's too many of them…"

"The more there are, the more 'targets' to kill!" Gabriella declared as she took four giant steps forward, her Railgun at the ready. "Realigning targeting sensors!"

She opened fire with her weapon and the first Cryssalid that landed was blasted instantly to ribbons. Instantly its fellows screeched in fury and rushed at all of them.

 _[Open fire!]_ The Commander ordered as he flew over to the open cargo container.

All of them fired at will, and as if they were following a mindless impulse, they did not attempt to dodge or take cover from the barrage of plasma bullets and laser fire. But because of their blitzkrieg styled assault, without any regard for cover or self-preservation, it was easy enough for two of them to break through and reach their position. They jumped over the cargo containers Puppy was dragging behind her and while one leapt to attack her, the other charged Gabriella.

"GET IT OFF ME!" Puppy screamed as she was shoved to the ground, trying to keep her weapon between the Cryssalid and her.

" **Hsaaaaaar!"** It screeched as it snapped its jaws at her, before taking a swing with its claw and slicing at her arm.

"Hyaaaaaaaaaaah!" Puppy screamed in pain as the gash appeared on her arm, just as the Cryssalid won the fight with her over the gun's position, and was about to clamp it's jaws around her neck, before Eagleeye shot at it with his Laser rifle.

"Get your teeth off of our Puppy!" He yelled angrily, before letting loose with another clip and emptying it into the still breathing Cryssalid.

Hawkeye meanwhile began firing at the pack of Cryssalids who had appeared behind them with the rest of the Sharks and Perce. Gabriella, despite having a Cryssalid raving and screeching at her face while trying to claw and scratch at her MEC's armor, calmly and easily shoved it off of her with one arm, before giving it a taste of her MEC's fist. Afterword it did not get back up for another taste.

Or at least, the rest of its body below the head.

The mad rush and sound of bullets firing did not end though, because even as they fired and killed their targets, who apparently were easily killed from the beam and laser weapons they wielded, refused to end up the assault. More vents began opening, and with each vent came yet a new Cryssalid to join the struggle. Soon they had spent their last grenade without rearming from the containers.

"How many of these things are there?!" T-Rex yelled angrily as yet 'more' Cryssalids began jumping down from the vents they could see, replacing those that were being killed.

"The more of them we kill, the more of them show up!" Sharptooth screamed as she recharged her rifle, before firing another shot and killing another Cryssalid. "There's no end to them!"

=XCOM Enemy Unknown – Resilience of Man=

As Hawkeye emptied his fourth clip of plasma bolts and reloaded, he saw the Commander opening the container holding the SHIV they found earlier frantically. Then he flew inside, and they heard the hum of its plasma engines going online.

 _[We have no choice Sharks, we've got to make a run for the Thermo Generator!]_ The Commander yelled over the coms. _[I've analyzed their pattern, and they're coming in waves of three, on my signal everyone make for the room at the far side! I'll cover you!]_

"What?" Hawkeye asked incredulously, before suddenly five Mimic Beacons were launched from inside the crate to the far wall, where five simultaneous holographic humans appeared.

 _[Now, make for the Generator Room!]_ The Commander ordered, and suddenly the SHIV they had found flew up and high over them, with his Gremlin sitting directly at the front of it, with a wire connecting the two machines together.

Without any more orders they all followed his instructions and began running for where the Thermo Generator was. All the while the Cryssalids that had been rushing them, were suddenly distracted by the sight of new, apparently 'vulnerable' prey. Puppy, though slower, still panicking, still shaking, managed a slow run with Gabriella providing cover for her.

As for the Commander, as he said, he was providing cover fire for them as he fired Plasma bolts at every, and any Cryssalid that made its way toward them.

They could hear him firing shot after shot, and with each bolt came the screaming cry of a dying Cryssalid.

 _[Keep going, the Thermo Generator room is directly ahead!]_ He shouted, and they saw a large entrance to a door in front of them.

Perce was the first to reach the door, he opened it and began firing behind them while they all ran through it one at a time, and Puppy was the last of the Sharks with Mercy in front as she slithered in before. Then came the cargo containers, and finally Gabriella and Perce.

But before they could close the door, the Commander and the SHIV floated in, still firing until the door was closed.

=XCOM Enemy Unknown – Base Act 3=

"What… the hell… just happened back there!" Hawkeye asked as everyone panted and breathed, while the sounds of screaming Cryssalids came from the other side of the door.

 _[Cryssalids, I've never seen them act so aggressive before from the old days.]_ The Commander said from his position on the SHIV, before he disconnected himself from it. _[I spent five Mimic Beacon's distracting them, once they run out, the Cryssalids will most likely start attacking each other until more prey shows up.]_

"Commander… what were… those 'things'!" Puppy asked, her voice sounding petrified with terror, even as she cradled her injured arm while wrapping it up with cloth from her own shirt. "They were dead… yet they didn't stay dead… we kept shooting but they wouldn't die! What kind of 'things' are those aliens?"

 _[They were for lack of a better word, 'Zombies' Puppy.]_ He said to them as the SHIV turned to aim its front at them. _[They're what becomes of living creatures who have been killed and been impregnated by a Cryssalid. While the Cryssalid grows in the dead body, it assumes control of the body's nervous system and uses it to attack potential hosts. Once the Cryssalid is fully matured, it explodes from the corpse fully formed.]_

"So… when it was about to…" She asked before sitting on the ground and beginning to shake violently, while still cradling her arm. "I… I want to go home… this is too much! I didn't sign up for this kind of mission… This was supposed to be a weapon retrieval job, not a weapon's fire mission against… monsters!"

 **[Sorry, but that's XCOM, you signed up to fight extraterrestrials, if you wanted a different assignment, you could have joined the engineering core!]** A child, female, synthetic voice declared suddenly.

At that everyone looked around before looking at the SHIV.

" **Did… that machine just talk?"** Mercy asked, confused.

 **[What, do you think you Aliens are the only ones capable of producing Artificial Intelligence?]** The SHIV asked angrily. **[I'll have you know that I am the first ever S.H.I.V designed to operate as an independently thinking operative that XCOM's Chief Engineer Shen has ever created.]**

"Sir… why is the SHIV talking?" Hawkeye asked quietly. "And why does it sound like a ten year old girl?"

 _[To answer that question, this SHIV is a special one that I requested be built to my specifications prior to XCOM HQ being overrun. It was built to operate as an 'agent' to work alongside our forces in the old days, and classified to 'Mission Control' level operatives only.]_ The Commander said, floating in front of them as he led the way through the room and past a massive generator that was offline. _[As for why it sounds like a ten year old girl... well I never had the chance to properly install a different voice system for its AI to use.]_

 **[At the time my AI used a synthetic voice of one of the engineer's daughters, and while he has said that I was built to operate as an 'agent' for XCOM, what he really means to say is that I was built to operate as his personal S.H.I.V. so that he could participate personally in field missions!]** The SHIV said calmly as it followed behind him directly. **[The system Shen set up meant that the Commander would be able to control me remotely so that, even though he would command our forces via external communication, he could still feel like he was part of his squad in the field! However, based on the information the Commander gave me when he synced with me via his Gremlin, tells me that I was not put into use due to just being completed prior to the base coming under attack.]**

"Which is why we never saw your specifications listed as one of our SHIV's in the Cybernetics's Depot upstairs." Perce declared. "So you were probably completed either the day before or the day 'of' the attack."

"So how come you didn't speak up when we turned you on earlier?" Sharptooth asked.

 **[My AI only activated when it synced up with the Commander's access codes, until then, my chassis was running in autonomous mode. Until the Commander activated me using his authorization code, all of my non-combat protocols would operate in autonomous mode. I was built to be his personal S.H.I.V., therefore, the only ones who could activate me completely are him, Chief Engineer Shen, and Central Bradford.]**

 _[Yes…]_ He said quietly. _[I had it built because I figured, if I were there in the field with you all, I wouldn't feel like a terrible leader.]_

"You were never a terrible leader Commander, whatever gives you that idea?" Gabriella asked as she clanked behind them all.

 _[The large list of names of people who I've gotten killed over the years Gabriella, the corpses of the operatives I led to their deaths in the floors above… the officers who obeyed my orders and died because of them.]_ He replied sternly. _[If I were better, they would be alive, none of this would have happened…]_

 **[Commander, permit me to ask this question, but why are you communicating via this Gremlin?]** The SHIV asked, looking at him by turning it's turret to face him.

 _[SHIV, initiate protocol three two five, authorization Omega Alpha Tango three two, clearance level Red, voice authorization wavelength zero zero one.]_ The Commander said as they came near a door which had the label, -Thermo Generator 2- on it.

 **[Understood, ceasing inquiry of sensitive data until unauthorized personnel are out of hearing range!]** The SHIV said.

As they approached the door they heard the sound of screams and yells from the Cryssalids, as well as the sound of a door breaking behind them.

 _[SHIV, reclaim the doorway and eliminate hostiles, use of deadly force authorized as well as use of all explosive armaments and weaponry.]_ The Commander said calmly as he opened the door.

 **[Alright, initiating attack protocols, time for battle!]** The SHIV yelled excitedly, turning around and speeding toward the door they came from.

"Wait, your just sending that SHIV to deal with those Cryssalids alone?" Sharptooth asked as the SHIV flew out of sight.

 _[That SHIV is more heavily armed than four of you combined.]_ He said as he led the way in. _[It's armed with a plasma mounted gun capable of firing rifle rounds and repeater rounds. For explosive armaments, it's turret that fires the plasma rounds can double as a grenade launcher, and I've had it equipped with a total of thirty five grenades, ranging from Frags to Mimic Beacons. Combined with the most effective targeting program and parameters as well as Combat Protocols to date twenty five years ago, and that machine has more firepower than half a squad of XCOM's elite veterans from back in the day. That, and it's better to send a soldier who can't be 'impregnated' by a Cryssalid.]_

=XCOM Enemy Unknown – Main Theme=

"Wait, if that little thing was so tough, then why did you wait until now to turn it on chief?" T-Rex asked as they entered the Thermo Generator room.

"Yea… why?" Hawkeye asked as well, realizing how much the Commander has known about the base, and only revealed when it was absolutely necessary.

 _[Because… I didn't want to reveal my cards to the Hierarch Mother so quickly…]_ He said as they saw a massive generator in front of them, offline but with a terminal online for them to interface with. _[She's been in control of 'everything' here, from the floors we go to, to the enemies we've fought. The ambushes she's created, and the forces arrayed against us here, nothing we have faced she didn't have control over. Even the smallest advantage we had paled in comparison to her information on us, trapped in our own base. I needed to keep as many cards in my pocket as I could, because otherwise we risk losing everything here.]_

He floated over to the terminal and accessed it, then he began punching in codes and commands. Soon the lights began to turn on, and as with all of the other generators, they heard it whirling and groaning like some sleeping giant awakening from an ancient slumber.

 _[Come on girl… rise and shine!]_ He declared as he backed up and watched the generator turning on before them. _[There ya go… come on, time to wake up… back to work you go!]_

The generator whirled to life, sparks and steam erupted from it, and soon they saw numerous lights around the room turning on, revealing the large scope of the generator before them.

It was huge, filling up almost the entire room. Behind them in the other room they heard the generator turning on in there as well.

Hawkeye watched as the Commander floated back over to the terminal and checked the power readings. _[Excellent… the power is restored… we have everything back online, elevators, doors, lights, and especially the Ventilation system!]_ He declared proudly. _[Alright, just a quick command, and… done!]_ They heard the sound of air blowing, and felt a cool rush of cold air blowing in from the ventilation system.

Instantly the air began to smell cleaner and the temperature began to change to a much cooler level.

 _[Alright… the toxic clouds blocking our path have been removed, the ventilation system has cleared the area for us, and we can finally leave XCOM HQ!]_ He declared.

"Alright!" Puppy said, sounding thoroughly relieved.

"I can't wait to get back to the Avenger… I need a shower big time!" Sharptooth whispered tiredly.

"Forget the shower… I want to go to bed!" Eagleeye said.

Then just as everyone began breathing sighs of relief, all except Gabriella and Perce, they heard the sounds of explosions from upstairs. **"What was that noise?"** Mercy hissed fearfully.

=XCOM Enemy Unknown – Vigilo Confido (combat music 7, extended edition 1 hr best)

(Commander's PoV)

 _[Dam bastards…]_ He yelled as he began punching the terminal for more commands. _[The Hierarch Mother has unleashed her forces from across the base, they're attacking the generators. Generators two and four are down, number three is failing! She's trying to keep us from escaping!]_ He turned to look at them. _[It's time to go Sharks, it won't take her long to reach us down here, we need to take the elevator back up top, fight our way through to mission control and open the lift for the launch pad that we took down here. Right now the Thermo Generator and the Elerium Generator next door are powering everything, but if she shuts either down we'll be trapped for good!]_

"So we just get to the elevator and go up, simple!" Puppy yelled.

He frowned inwardly, wishing he could tell Puppy the truth, but he knew it would make everything harder if he did. _[Yea, but it's not going to be easy. Still, if it were easy, this wouldn't be the challenge I know you're up for! Let's get going Sharks, move out, I'll meet you upstairs by traveling through the vents!] He ordered._

"Yes Sir!" They all shouted.

As they began leaving though, he tapped Gabriella and Perce just before they left.

 _[You two, I have a job for you two.]_ He declared.

Then he silently talked to them, explained his plan, and what he wanted them to do. If they felt any shock, or had any remorse, or even opposed the plan, they did not show it on their faces. Instead, like the professional soldiers they were trained to be, they nodded silently and informed him that they would carry out their orders.

 _[Good luck you two, I'm counting on you.]_

"It will be done!" Gabriella declared, giving him a salute.

"You can depend on us sir." Perce declared.

He nodded and gave them one final talk, before heading to the nearby vent and floating into it, having a harder time moving around with the air going on.

" _Commander, your SHIV is having a hard time listening to us!"_ Falcon said over the coms.

" _But the thing sure knows how to fight, there's a lot of Cryssalid corpses here Commander."_ Eagleeye commented. _"Put's my little bird to shame!"_

 _ **[Aww come on Commander, I want to fight some more. I've only spent twenty seven percent of my ammunition, I'm only just getting started!]**_ The SHIV declared eagerly.

 _[Get moving SHIV, that's an order!]_ He declared.

" _Commander, where's Perce and Gabriela?"_ Puppy asked. _"Are they staying down here to guard me again for the elevator ride?"_

 _[No time, they'll stay behind temporarily to protect the generators while you guys all squeeze onto the elevator, with our SHIV out of the cargo containers, we have one less container to carry onto it, meaning you all can fit inside. It won't be comfortable, but you can all get on board in one go!]_

" _I'll be glad to have them in our ranks back on the Avenger, maybe someday we can come back and retake this base again Commander!"_ Eagleeye said. _"I'd forgotten what it was like having an MEC Trooper on the team, not to mention a Gene Soldier."_

He frowned again inwardly, not daring to say that the reason why the Hierarch Mother had begun destroying the generators they had fought so hard to turn on, was because he had set the Thermo and Elerium Generators into overload. Once they reached critical levels, they would explode, causing the steam vents to ignite throughout the base, and trigger a massive explosion that would rupture the many coolant liquid conduits running through the walls to keep the generators cooled.

In other words the base was about to be destroyed, and anything not topside and at least five hundred yards away from the epicenter would be destroyed as well.

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy slithered with the other Sharks as Hawkeye took the lead, Sharptooth behind him, Eagleeye behind her, T-Rex and Falcon behind him, her and Puppy behind them, and the machine SHIV trailing behind them all. They raced for the elevator now that their path was cleared, and all they had to do was take a single elevator ride up to where they all were.

"Contact!" T-Rex yelled suddenly.

They kept running while their visors showed a trio of Thin Men jumping from the ventilation system, hissing angrily as they spotted them running.

 _[Keep going, ignore them!]_ The Commander yelled. _[We have no time to deal with them, if we stay here any longer, we'll be swarmed. I have large scale movements coming from the ventilation system, there are 'hundreds' of contacts making their way through the system toward your floor. They're being slowed by the air currents flowing through the vents, but that won't stop them for long, you must reach the elevator and take it up before the Hierarch Mother uses it to send her mechanical forces against you!]_

Mercy nodded and tried to ignore her cloned predecessors, but they began firing plasma bolts at them, and they barely avoided taking damage, but the containers carrying all of their munitions were being hit. At first she 'thought' they were merely missing them, but then began to notice that none of the bolts were even getting close to hitting any of them.

As she glanced behind her while still slithering forward, she realized that they were deliberately aiming at the containers, and 'not' them.

" **They're targeting the containers!"** Mercy hissed in fear, remembering what the Commander said about the containers possibly exploding from all of the munitions they were carrying.

 **[Initiating defensive protocols!]** The SHIV declared, turning around and opening fire on the Thin Men.

Despite her combat programming, her blaster fire missed most of the Thin Men, but it did stop them from attacking the containers.

 **[Shot's missed, realigning battle scanners, deploying Smoke Screen Grenade!]** The SHIV declared now, and fired a smoke screen in front of them, blocking the Thin Men's view of them as they ran through it, with the SHIV following last.

As she slithered through the smoke screen, coughing a little from the smoke entering her sensitive nostrils, she spotted the elevator door opening before them. Just as it did a pair of Seekers appeared with one Cyberdisc and a pair of drones accompanying it.

"We got company Sharks!" T-Rex yelled as the machines prepared for battle, with one Seeker creating a barrier to protect its fellows, while the Cyberdisc unfurled and readied itself to fire.

 _[You've got no choice, destroy them and board that elevator before it goes for more reinforcements!]_ The Commander yelled. _[Sharptooth, Reaper mode and take down the drones, Hawkeye Snipe the Seeker on the left, Falcon Null Lance the Reaper on the right, T-Rex, Eagleeye, Mercy, target the Cyberdisc. Puppy keep moving for the elevator, SHIV cover fire Puppy as she moves forward.]_

Mercy took aim with her plasma rifle and fired on the Cyberdisc with Eagleeye and T-Rex. The Plasma bolts and laser weaponry broke through to their targets just as Hawkeye shot the Seeker creating a barrier to protect them. The Other Seeker was downed by Falcon as he unleashed the power of his psionic capabilities.

Sharptooth yelled and screamed as she ran forward with her Arc Blade, and while the Cyberdisc was busy trying to hold out against their combined firepower, she was able to easily smash and destroy the two supporting drones.

As the last of the drones fell, they heard more hissing and cries, and she turned around to see four Thin Men slow marching toward them, firing plasma bolts from their rifles. Behind them a trio of Cryssalids were racing forward, screeching at the sight of prey.

"Noooo!" Puppy yelled as the elevator doors closed, just before she and the Shiv could board it.

 _[Prepare for more contacts Sharks, eliminate the threat behind you before that elevator brings in more contacts.]_ The Commander ordered. _[SHIV, deploy Needle Grenade!]_

 **[Deploying grenade… take cover!]** The SHIV declared eagerly, before launching a grenade into the midst of the Thin Men and Cryssalids.

Instantly the Thin Man closest grabbed it and flung it backward behind him, and just like the other Thin Man who did that before him, he and his fellows were met with the same fate.

" **Kyaaaaaash!"** They screeched as hundreds of needles, each too small to see, flung outward in every direction in a radius of seven feet.

The needles pierced the soft skin and flesh of the Thin Men, causing them to die as they were punctured endlessly, and from them came toxic clouds of smoke. But unlike before, it was pulled up and into the ventilation system, where they heard more screams of pain echoing, as it apparently spread to those aliens not immune to poison in the vents.

But the Cryssalids, with their chitineous plating exoskeletons, were less damaged by the needles, and resumed rushing for them.

"Taking the shot!" Puppy yelled as she fired alongside the rest of the Sharks.

Mercy opened fired as well, and it was like a slaughter as the Cryssalids were ripped to pieces by the storm of plasma bolts and laser fire. She did not mourn the death of these mindless creatures, whose only thoughts were to kill, breed, and die. She knew of them as mere 'insects' from the older generation, even their more current versions were little better, just better 'designed' to carry out their simple directive.

Then the elevator opened up, and they turned around and opened fire on the solitary Sectopod that stomped out.

 _[That Sectopod has enough firepower to obliterate you all in a single volley, destroy it!]_ The Commander ordered.

Without needing any other orders they all emptied everything they had in their weapons into the giant mechanical monstrosity.

It tried to turn and fire at her, but just as it opened its main weapon to fire, Hawkeye put a final bolt into the weapon, and it collapsed to the ground. Then she was pulled back by Hawk as he and everyone retreated from the destroyed frame, which exploded with a loud bang.

" **I thank you again…"** She hissed, now owing her life twice to him.

"Don't mention it." He said.

"Come on guys, get on!" Puppy yelled as she was the first to get into the exposed elevator now, pulling the three containers behind her. "Let's get going while the going's good!"

It was as the Commander said, there was barely enough room for all of them to fit in one go, but the SHIV made room by letting Puppy sit on it.

As the elevator door closed, Mercy saw more and more Thin Men, Cryssalids, Sectoids, and even Seekers appearing from the vents, all flooding toward where the generator rooms were.

" **Commander, what of Perce and Gabriella?"** She hissed worriedly. **"They are still not with us!"**

 _[Trust me, just follow the plan!]_ The Commander declared.

"Don't worry Mercy, Perce and Gabriella are the epitome of XCOM's operatives. Perce is a Gene Soldier with some of the finest modifications we could give him, and Gabriella's MEC can obliterate anything that isn't a Sectopod or a Berserker." Hawkeye declared proudly. "They'll make it to the elevator when they can reach it!"

" **I hope so."** She hissed as the elevator began taking them up to the top floor, as high as it could go.

(Perce's PoV)

Perce fired his Alloy Cannon and destroyed a Sectoid as it tried to control his mind.

It was a struggle, but he would not disobey the orders the Commander had given him. He was a Warden Wolf, and he would defend his den until his final breath.

As he fired, more contacts emerged from the opposite side, Thin Men, Seekers, Sectoids, Cyberdiscs, drones, everything was converging on him and Gabriella's position.

They had to hold, they must hold for as long as possible.

"AOooooooooooo!" He howled loudly as he pulled out his pistol and shot one Thin Man in the head, even as fifteen plasma weapons returned fire.

(Gabriella's PoV)

"Targeting contact!" She declared as she let loose with a round from her Railgun.

The Muton that had the gall to emerge, rather surprisingly, from the vent above her in the Elerium Generator room now had a hole the size of her fist in his chest.

"Xeno down, targeting new contact!" She said as more targets jumped from the vents.

A Seeker appeared and wrapped around her, trying to bind her, but her MEC was too powerful to be contained, and she easily shoved it off, before punching it in the head with a fist.

"All enemies of the Falcon will be exterminated by its talons!" She yelled as she fired on another Muton, even as more plasma fire answered her.

(Commander's PoV)

He raced through the vents, taking the fastest past up to where the Sharks would exit from the elevator. All the while he dodged Cryssalids and Thin Men as they slid through the vents, down to the generator rooms.

 **{Commander, what are you doing?}** The Hierarch Mother declared over an open com to him. **{You cannot possibly believe this plan will succeed!}**

 _[I think you underestimate me Hierarch Mother.]_ He responded, no longer hiding his position now that his final plan had been initiated. _[You see, you are no longer in control of this base, I am the XCOM Commander, and I will not allow you to use this base as a breeding chamber for your 'cloned' soldiers! I will see this base destroyed before I let it remain in Advent control for another second!]_

There was a silent hiss of admiration from the Hierarch Mother while he approached another vent door. **{You are indeed… a true genius Commander… only 'you' could have defeated me here…}**

 _[Save your flatter for our 'next' encounter you snake, you may have avoided capture this day, but I will see you interrogated next time we cross paths!]_

 **{We shall see Commander… we shall see…}** She hissed smugly. **{This base is of no importance to me either way, so in a manner of speaking… you've lost this day…}**

 _[I don't think so… you see I've recovered the munitions stored here, the weapons we left behind, lost technology that we can use now… I may not have saved our base, but at least it will never be used by your Advent.]_

 **{Of course… of course…}** She hissed as he exited the vent now. **{But we'll find out, 'who' was the real victor…}**

(Hawkeye's PoV)

The elevator door opened onto the floor where they'd found the first cache of weapons, it was just as they had left it.

 _[Alright Sharks, let's move!]_ The Commander declared as they saw him waiting for them.

"I'll send the elevator down for Perce and Gabriella!" Hawkeye said as he was the last one to leave.

He pushed the button just as he exited the elevator, and it closed before rattling down, even as they ran toward the exit.

They ran through the door, and into the room where the toxic cloud had blocked them, and it was cleared as they had been told.

They could hear screams and screeches of furry behind them as they raced up the stairway, Puppy moving as fast as the containers would let her.

 _[Cover our backs SHIV, we still need more time to reach the floor above!]_

 **[Initiating attack procedures, laying down cover fire!]** The SHIV declared as it fired on the doorway, and collapsed it in a pile of rubble to block their retreat.

They raced up the staircase and back into the room where Valkyrie Squad had died. The bodies of the six fallen women were still there, undisturbed. As they ran pass they heard more clattering behind them as the Cryssalids poured from the vents.

 **[It's the enemy, covering our retreat!]** The SHIV answered, firing again as it destroyed the door behind them, blocking the aliens from following.

"Why are we blocking our backs, what about Perce and Gabriella?" Puppy yelled.

"They'll be fine, they can easily blow through rubble like that and clear their path!" Eagleeye declared.

 _[Keep moving, Mission Control is up ahead!]_ The Commander yelled as they pushed through the room with the wall of names.

Seconds later they entered Mission Control, and ignored the skeletal remains of the Mission Control officers, still at their posts where they died. They pushed on through, ignoring the cries and yells of the Cryssalids behind them, all screaming in rage as they tried to break through the vents behind them.

 _[They can't break through those vents in Mission Control, they're designed to contain any intruders of any size and strength!]_ The Commander said as they entered the hanger and ran to the elevator. _[Eagleeye, activate the lift, open up the access shaft!]_

Eagleeye ran to the terminal and began entering commands. As it began to lift them up, he also punched in commands to tell it to go back down after a while so that Perce and Gabriella had a way up to them again. Moments later the large door above opened up.

 _[Central come in, do you read me?!]_ The Commander said over the coms.

 _{This is Central Bradford, thank god it's you Sir, we've got…}_

 _[Forget whatever it is, send the Skyranger to our position on the double, XCOM HQ is overrun with Advent forces and we need immediate Evac!]_

 _{Understood, Skyranger is almost to your position, ETA one minute, I sent it after detecting odd power readings. But you've got to move fast Commander, those readings are off the chart, even Advent can see it as plain as day now. I've got dozens of transports heading your way!}_

"So we hold this position till Gabriella and Perce get up here, then we make our getaway, we've gone through worse situations!" Puppy yelled as she prepped her gun.

" **Yes, no soldier left behind!"** Mercy said proudly as she readied her weapon as well.

Even as he nodded, he saw the Skyranger off in the distance flying toward them.

 _[Wrong, we're boarding the Skyranger as soon as it lands!]_ The Commander said. _[The generators are set to blow up the base and everything in and around it!]_

"What, but what about Perce and Gabriella?" Eagleeye yelled. "They're still trapped below!"

 _[I know, I ordered them to stay and guard the generators to ensure the Hierarch Mother didn't stop the procedure!]_ He replied as the Skyranger flew closer. _[This was their final order, to protect the generators until the procedure was carried out. I cannot allow this base to fall into Advent hands.]_

"But we can still save them, we can go back and fight our way back to them and get out!" T-Rex said in shock and horror.

 _[No we can't, not without letting Advent regain control of this base, and I will sooner see it destroyed then let them use it against us!]_ He responded.

"Commander, you can't be serious about leaving them to die!" Hawkeye said in shock as well, never once having seen 'this' side of the Commander before.

He had never once, ever left a soldier behind to die, in all his five years fighting for XCOM and the resistance.

 _[I am serious Hawkeye, they know their duties, and they will carry out their mission to the letter!]_ He responded, but his voice was beginning to break up, as if he were fighting back tears.

"But Perce and Gabriella!" Sharptooth yelled as the Skyranger chose that exact moment to land in front of them. "You can't just leave them to die, they're your soldiers, they followed your orders, they respected you and trusted you! You can't just do this to them!"

 _[They are soldiers Agent Kelly, this is what they were trained to do, follow orders! Now do as you're told, AND GET IN THAT SKYRANGER!]_ He screamed in a mixture of anger and despair. _[Don't make this harder than it is for me! DO AS YOUR ORDERED AGENTS OF XCOM, GET… IN… THAT… CHOPPER!]_

(Perce's PoV)

Perce held his arm as he panted heavily, trying to keep his aim steady as he was surrounded by corpses of dead aliens, and more Sectoids and Cryssalids then he had ever seen before in one area.

"I am… Sargent Nez Perce… last of the Warden Wolves…" He panted as he stared at them defiantly. "I will not… surrender this base… to you extraterrestrials… as long as even 'one' XCOM agent remains alive…"

He had only enough ammo in his Alloy Cannon for one more shot.

"Until we howl our last to our watchful father… we Warden Wolves will never retreat from our enemy…" He panted before taking aim. "Custodi Protectatores Tarrae… either death claim us… or death claim our enemies!"

He readied his weapon, and opened fire. There had to be at least thirty seven enemies in front of him that he could see and detect. It was a simple math problem… how could he possibly miss?

(Gabriella's PoV)

Gabriella leaned heavily on the wall as she readied her arm for one final strike, even as she was surrounded by Mutons, Seekers, and three Berserkers in the generator room.

"My duty is done… the procedure cannot be stopped now…" She declared as she watched the generator reaching the critical level.

Even if it were shot and destroyed now, it would only set off the reaction faster, but she had to keep them interested in her until the Commander was safe.

"So… come my enemy… who will be the first to taste this Falcon's talon?" She asked them with a proud smile. "I am the last of the Falcons… but until you clip my wings and grind my bones into dust… I will still fight with my talons and soar through the sky!"

She grinned as the three Berserker roared and charged at her.

"Face the talons of the Falcon!" She screamed as she pulled her fist back, primed the arm's thrusters, and fired off her final Kinetic Strike!

Three targets, one strike, one hundred percent chance to hit 'a' target.

=XCOM Enemy Unkown – HQ Act 2=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

Hawkeye forced his feet into the Skyranger, even as the others did as well, a part of his heart was speechless as the loading ramp closed behind them.

 _{Alright kids, we're locked and loaded, packages secure, time to get outa dodge!}_ The pilot said.

The Skyranger began lifting up, and they all watched sadly as the screen turned on, showing the base as they left it.

There was silence for several minutes before the small 'outpost' disguise erupted into a massive explosion. They could feel the shockwave as it rocked the Skyranger.

 _[Central… come in…]_ The Commander declared over the coms. _[Prepare funeral preparations… and prepare to add two new names to the wall…]_

{I'm sorry to hear that sir… but we've got even bigger problems…} Central said, and they could hear the sorrow in his voice. {It's best if you see this for yourself sir…}

The Commander's Gremlin merely nodded, before he extended a clawed hand to both him and Mercy, handing them each something. _[Here… they wanted you two to have these…]_ He said.

Hawkeye looked down and saw a Falcon Squad pin sitting in the palm of his hands. Mercy had a Wolf Squad pin in her hand as well. They both looked confused.

Then the Commander handed them two datapads, and he saw that they each contained a data log from both Perce and Gabriella.

 _[Listen to their final words… I've already heard them personally…]_ He said sadly, _[If you'll excuse me… I need to recharge my battery up front…],_ with that he left them for the cockpit.

(Mercy's and Hawkeye's PoV)

They both looked at their datapads and read out loud for the sharks to hear.

"To those who hear these words, after I have passed away… let not my sacrifice sadden and worry your hearts." Hawkeye read, reading Gabriella's final words. "It was by the order of the Commander that I stay behind, and sacrifice my life to save the lives of all those hearing these words. Do not be angered by his decision, for it was his to make, and mine to obey. We Falcons are but weapons to be wielded, and that is the path in life I have chosen. I am proud to have died, saving those who cannot fend for themselves. It is the duty of every Falcon to do what is necessary to defend humanity."

"You may wonder why he asked me to remain behind, when you all escaped… it is no different than when the Three Hundred Spartans remained at Thermopylae, while the rest of the Greek Army retreated. What I am, is not what others should become… you are fighting to save humanity… and what makes you 'human' is something that I will never have again. I am a mere weapon… nothing more. Our bloody road ends now, my talons are dipped in red, I now join our fallen comrades as they rest in the ruins of our prime."

He sighed and read out the final passage. "I grow tired now… like the Falcon I am… I have soared enough… my talons are weary… death is nothing more than my nest now, and now I can sleep in peace, knowing that our future is secured."

Mercy nodded and began reading her passage out, trying to respect the fallen soldier that had left her his badge of honor. **"To those who do not follow the ways of the Warden Wolf, I leave you but one final piece of knowledge. Remember that we who came before are merely those who have explored but one passage. In my life I joined XCOM to protect my home that I call earth, my mother Earth is forever my mother, just as she is everyone's mother who lives upon her sacred soil. To that end I became a Gene Soldier, in order to better protect her… but in doing so I sacrificed that which made me 'human'."**

" **You may question why the Commander ordered me to do what I have done… but that is his decision, and I will not question it. Yet I do understand it, you are fighting to preserve your humanity, your species, turning you into your enemy is 'not' the way to win your war. My time was long ago, my time has long since passed."** She said, then began reading out his final passage. **"I grow weary now… I am a wolf who has lived too long in his den, I can't wait to sleep… but remember these words. The ways of the Warden Wolf, protect your Mother Earth… I can see that even now there are allies in our enemies."**

" **I am going to lie down in my den now… the honor of the Warden Wolves… is now in your hands. Protect our Eden among the stars, defend it to your deaths… I have fulfilled this duty, I leave the rest to you."**

(Mercy's PoV)

She sighed sadly as she stared at the wolf pin in her hand, and thought about what he had just said. Perce was probably the mightiest soldier she'd ever met, yet now he was dead, not just by her former ally's hands, but by orders of her Commander now.

Yet he harbored no anger to him, far from it, he still respected and obeyed him, even knowing that he was being ordered to his death.

 _ ***Protect our Eden among the stars, defend it to your deaths…***_ She had listened to those words, and whispered the name he referred to their planet as. **"Terra…"**

Silently, she took the pin, and pinned it to her armor.

She would honor the Warden Wolf, she would do as he asked. She would protect Terra, the human's 'Earth Mother', alongside Hawkeye and the other Sharks.

She only hoped, that the Earth would see her as a daughter now, and would give her the same privilege she gave her 'true' daughters and sons.

(The Commander's PoV, Hours later)

It was almost midnight by the time he and the Sharks returned to the Avenger. The SHIV was in engineering being examined by Shen, and he was staring at the globe with Central, having been told the horrible news.

"The entire Western American resistance cell has been scattered… it will be months before we can make contact with them again…" He said.

 _[If there's anyone left to fight that is…]_ He replied.

"They hit them hard… we tried going in to support but… it was like they knew our every move… the entire Water Dragon squad received near fatal injuries. They'll be out for four months." Central said. "Then of course… there's this transmission."

He turned on the screen and played the latest transmission from the Resistance Network.

It showed several hundred resistance people from the settlement in the Western American region, all of them being watched by Advent 'Peacekeeping Forces' and other Aliens, mostly Vipers. Yet marching in formation, clanking every time they took a step, were probably dozens of Sectopods.

" **Attention… scientists, laborers, merchants, and sympathizers of the XCOM resistance cell."** Came the Hierarch Mother's voice as the Sectopods marched in step. **"You are hereby considered a part of, and offered the chance, to join the Advent Administration."**

The Sectopods marched on, and then they saw one extremely large leg walk by, then another, and finally another, casting the whole crowd in shadow as it easily made the Sectopods look like dwarfs.

" **As you have witnessed this day, the might of Advent is not to be trifled with, and because of your sympathies for these terrorists, you should all be treated as such. But I am merciful in all things, especially to my enemies!"** She declared. **"So I offer you all a chance, to save your lives. Surrender information leading to XCOM's location, and you will all be spared, and given full rights and protection under Advent's administration!"**

There was only silence as nobody answered the offer.

" **Think of your family, friends, and neighbors… think about their lives… if you surrender to me the information I seek then their lives will be spared!"** She said, almost pleading with them. **"Are these Terrorists worth dying for? They bring only disturbance, disorder, and death to all."**

Yet again, nobody spoke up.

" **If even one of you speaks up, and provide 'ANY' information as to where XCOM hides… all of your lives will be spared… you may return to your lives as you were before this 'unfortunate' incident occurred!"** She said. **"All I ask is one of you, even 'one'… one voice will save the lives of hundreds today… I offer one final chance!"**

Yet again, nobody spoke up, and now all of the Advent Troopers lowered their weapons to aim at the crowd, and the Vipers readied their weapons as well.

" **So be it… you are all terrorists… and my orders are to eliminate all terrorists… Terminate them!"**

Suddenly the transmission ended, before they could see what happened, but it was obvious what was about to happen.

"We hit it as hard as we could Commander, but nothing we did even dented its armor…" Central said as he showed the hologram of a six legged walker, similar in build to the Sectopod, but larger and more heavily armed and armored. "It was supported by a large number of forces, we were outgunned before we even had a chance… it took everything just to get out alive."

Yet he was silent, he was silent still, and he would not let his silence end until he chose to.

"Sir, what are we going to…?" Central began saying.

 _[I failed…]_ He said. _[I failed everyone… I let a trap stop me, I let go of powerful technology for the sake of pride, and now… I've let an entire cell be all but destroyed.]_ He looked at Central and asked a question that had been on his mind. _[Tell me Central… which Commander do you think is stronger? The one from the old days, or the one you're talking to now?]_

"I don't under…" Central began saying but was interrupted again.

 _[I wouldn't have let powerful technology like Gene modification or MEC Troopers, slip away for the sake of pride back then. I would have sacrificed soldiers to achieve the objective, I even sacrificed soldiers today and secured the objective, just as I would have before. If I had tried to save everyone, we wouldn't have been able to escape!]_

He sighed and looked at Central.

 _[I will not let this happen again… I want you and Shen to find out 'everything' you can about this walker… I am going to stop it once and for all… before Advent destroys us with it.]_ He turned and left the control room without another word to him.

As he floated alone, he thought about Perce and Gabriella… and mourned for them once again.

 _[Why did there have to be survivors… there should have been no survivors… why?]_ He moaned sadly. _[Why did you two not ask me to find a way to save you, why, why didn't you ask me to save you as well? You only had to guard the generators for a short time, till we secured the elevator up! Why did you stay behind?]_

He was a failure, he told himself.

He was nothing but a failure.

He played right into the Hierarch Mother's trap, she lured him there, isolated him, and while him and his Sharks were busy fighting to escape she had attacked the resistance when he was unable to stop her. It was the ultimate trap she could have laid out for him, by driving him to desperately seek out supplies anywhere he could find them.

Then she gave him what looked like a golden opportunity, a hidden base, unseen and unnoticed by Advent, with the prospect of tons of weaponry, technology that had been lost and awaiting recovery.

All the while, she had been preparing to trap them, so that when she made her move, she would go unopposed tactically speaking. He was the only one with the tactical skills to match her move for move, with him out of the way even for a single day, she had no other equal.

 _[I fell for her trap…]_ He growled angrily. _[She didn't care what happened to the base, or the cloned forces there… all she wanted, was to get me out of the picture, so she could put her real plan in motion.]_ He floated to the resistance communication's center, and tapped into it to make a few calls.

He needed soldiers, and he needed them now.

 _[I will not let that thing destroy the resistance… she may have won this battle, but she has not won the war!]_

Moments later he made contact with an old 'friend' of his, someone he knew Gabriella and Perce would have recognized.

 _[Hello there… Agent 007.]_

 _{Oh… it's you Commander, you know full well I'm retired right?}_ A female voice declared in a bored voice. _{Well what's the job you need me to do, or should I say, 'who' do you need me to kill?}_


	14. Chapter 14

=Chapter 14 – The Commander's Duties=

{Commander's Log, Date - Unspecified}

{It is my job as the Commander to oversee the addition of new personal to the XCOM project, as well as award promotions to those who deserve it. However, I find myself in this… interesting position… in that the promotion being given, is one that has never been done in the history of XCOM.}

{Needless to say, the decision is final… I cannot take back what I have decided upon, nor would I take back my decision in any way.}

{Being the Commander of XCOM has its perks, I fear but one single individual in the entire world, and I do not even know his face… for good reason. It's the face you never see, that you both respect and fear the most.}

=Promotion=

(Mercy's PoV)

" **I don't understand, why must we wear our full armor?"** She asked Puppy as she and Sharptooth finished dressing in their 'basic' armor.

"It's the rule, all active squad soldiers and personal prepare for a promotion ceremony in the Memorial room." Sharptooth said nonchalantly.

"I bet you the Commander's finally promoting me!" Puppy said eagerly, having been released from the Med Lab the day before.

They'd returned to the Avenger two days ago after losing Perce and Gabriella, as well as losing XCOM HQ. Many questions were asked, but the only ones fit to answer were Hawkeye, herself, Puppy, Falcon, and Sharptooth. The Commander had ordered the information as classified to command level operatives and colonel ranked operatives.

Only an hour after they had returned, everyone tuned in to their screens to watch the 'Name Addition Ceremony'.

She had never seen such a somber moment in her life, as only one individual was present in the entire room.

A heavily robed person, and the Gremlin that belonged to the Commander, so she assumed that he was keeping his identity a secret to everyone.

She heard his sad voice through the Gremlin as he spoke of Perce and Gabriella, how they were among the few remaining XCOM agents from the 'old days' that still fought. He spoke of their bravery, their strength, and above all their devotion to their duty to humanity and Earth. As he finished his speech she watched him use the Gremlin to engrave their names onto the wall, among the dozens of other names that were on it.

Yet this time, they were being called to the memorial room for a 'promotion ceremony'?

" **What is ceremony for?"** She asked.

"As it says, promotion in Ranks, and with higher ranks comes access to better gear!" Sharptooth said with a chuckle. "That's why our Puppy never gets to use anything good because she's still the Rookie!"

"Laugh it up Sharptooth, you just watch, I'm going to get promoted today, and then we'll see whose laughing!" She said.

Mercy 'chuckled', taking up the habit by being with her human allies for so long now. As Sharptooth and Puppy walked out while she continued to finish putting on her armor, she paused for a moment, before slowly resuming tying her armor on her tail.

She never realized it before, but she had become exceptionally 'used' to being around these XCOM agents. In fact, now that she looked back over the past two days, she's not had one single glare or 'silent treatment' from any of the personnel on board their floating vessel. It was the first time she ever thought about it, but she had grown accustomed to being in XCOM now, fighting alongside them and even aiding in their attempts to fight Advent.

 _ ***When did I become so 'used' to them?***_ She asked herself quietly as she finished tying her armor onto her tail. _***In fact… when did they become 'used' to me?***_

She sighed again before slithering over to leave the armory.

Exiting she found Hawkeye leaning against the wall, reading his book and wearing his own Kevlar armor. "About time you showed up Mercy." He said, closing the book and looking up at her. "So, ready for the big ceremony?"

" **I am dressed properly, but I still do not know who is being rewarded."** She said as she and Hawkeye began going down the empty corridor toward the staircase.

"Oh don't worry, you'll learn soon enough." He said warmly. "So tell me, what you thought of becoming here when you joined our humble crew of 'terrorists'?"

" **Becoming here?"** She asked her kindred human.

She thought about that question for a bit, before glancing at Hawkeye. She had to admit, she deeply admired him, not only for what he could do, but what he's done for her so far. Sparing her life, saving it, encouraging and protecting her as she chose to join XCOM. He faced his allies and even stared down against their enemies with her, and all the while he treated her no differently than he would another of his kind.

"Uh… Mercy?" He said as he looked at her. "You're staring at me."

" **Oh… uh… forgive me… was thinking."** She said quickly, not understanding 'what' she had indeed been thinking, or why she was thinking such thoughts. **"I guess… never thought about it… I just wanted to live another day."**

"Well… looks like you've lived several days now." He said as they walked down the staircase, all the way to the memorial room, which also served as the 'bar' for the humans here.

Although she's never been in the bar before.

" **Yes… I have."** She said, before thinking about her Hierarch Mother's orders, and wonder what she thought of her decision to join Advent's enemies.

She had not paid her any attention, or made any comment down in the XCOM HQ, in fact she seemed not to have noticed her at all. Either she didn't realize she was truly on the resistance's side, or she did not care.

 _ ***No matter which way it is, she did not hesitate to have her forces try to kill me…***_ She thought sadly. _***I am truly dead to Advent now… even my Hierarch Mother no longer cares for me… all I have left now… are XCOM and…***_

She glanced at Hawkeye again as they reached the floor where the Memorial Room was again, and again felt something in her chest stir.

Hawkeye opened the door first, and the first thing she noticed was that the hallway was very dark, with most of the lights off.

"Huh, I guess they're running maintenance on the lights down here." Hawkeye said in a surprised tone.

" **Again?"** She asked him. **"Why so much maintenance?"**

"You know how things are, they break, they malfunction, and things just don't work properly sometimes." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

" **Shen must be very busy."** She answered as they walked down the hallway and toward a closed door.

Hawkeye opened the door first and walked through, temporarily blinding her as the light poured from it. Then as she slithered through, trying to clear her eyes, she widened them as she beheld a strange sight.

It was as if every single XCOM personnel was in the room, all of them standing in two rows on either side of the doorway and at attention. Some of them were the wounded Gamma Raptors, and the rest of the Land Sharks. Everyone she'd ever seen, the rude engineers in engineering, some random maintenance crew, weapon's personnel, even the cleaning crew and cooking staff. All of them were standing at attention.

At the forefront, in front of the Memorial Wall, was a robed person with every part of him completely covered to prevent anyone from seeing his face, and next to him was a floating Gremlin. Next to him was Central Bradford, Chief Engineer Shen, and finally Dr. Tygan. All of them were standing at attention, with exception to the Commander, and looking down at her.

"Sorry it took so long sir, she was a little slow leaving." Hawkeye said, saluting the Commander and Central.

"Its fine… take your position Agent Hawkeye." Central said.

Hawkeye nodded and walked over to stand with the rest of the Sharks, before standing at attention just like them.

 _[Attention Everyone!]_ The Commander's Gremlin declared, getting everyone to look at them now. _[Today… marks the forty seventh Promotion Ceremony, held here aboard the Avenger. But this one is a most special one, for this day marks the first time, a non-human has ever been considered worthy of the honor, of being promoted within the ranks of XCOM.]_

At that Central, Tygan, Shen, and even the Commander looked at her, even if she didn't see the Commander's face she knew he was looking at her.

 _[For the first time, since XCOM's founding, has an 'alien' ever joined our ranks. By our organization's very nature, it is most 'unusual' for us to even be standing here, with one we have been sworn to protect Humanity against! Yet, the truth cannot be denied, nor can we hide it from ourselves… we stand with one who was once our enemy, as an ally, and friend.]_

 _[Agent Mercy… come forward…]_

She gulped and moved forward between the two rows, and with each person she passed they raised their arms and saluted her. As she passed Puppy, Hawkeye, Sharptooth, Eagleeye, T-Rex, and even Falcon, they all gave her a faint smile, or in Falcon's case a nod.

When she reached the small platform she placed her hands behind her, as the other personnel were doing and stared into the shadowed hood of her Commander.

Knowing that she was now face to face with him, she was severely intimidated by his presence. She was staring at the one, sole individual, on the entire planet, that could possibly lead her and her fellow 'resistance' soldiers to freedom from Advent. He was the shadow leader of XCOM, and he lived up to his reputation even now.

 _[Agent Mercy… when you came aboard this ship months ago, you were a prisoner of war. I told you that you were the first ever of your kind to enter the heart of the resistance. A week later you joined us as a member of our crew, working for our organization. Your decision was fueled by your desire to survive, to live, to merely exist in the universe for another day. Out of fear for your life, you joined us here, and became a traitor to your own kind, to Advent… but in joining us, you have gained something that Advent never offered you and we have given to you… not easily, but nonetheless we have given to you.]_ He nodded to Central, who pulled out a small case from behind his back and opened it.

Inside the case was a small badge, next to it was a pin, both of which bore an insignia on them.

The insignia was a coiled snake, with a single star below it and a moon behind it.

 _[For the actions you have taken in the name of XCOM, for the kills you have claimed fighting alongside the Land Sharks in the field, and for the bravery you showed against your former allies… I award you with the rank of 'Sergeant'… with all the rights and privileges that come with it.]_

 _{Indeed…}_ A mysterious voice declared suddenly, and she looked around with everyone at a large screen on the wall, and beheld a human whose face like the Commander was shrouded in secrecy.

All she could see of him, was his hands, which were cupped, and his suit, which was black. His face was digitized in a way that made it impossible to see who he was, and his voice was masked to prevent her from recognizing it. But she didn't need to know those things, because she could feel him 'looking' at her.

She felt terror from witnessing the face of this 'person', he looked like one who had supreme power over everything before him. If she had feared the Commander for his secrecy, and his capabilities, then this person truly made her wish she could curl up and hide, because she doubted there was not a single thing about her that he did not know.

He was powerful, and she feared him far more than the Commander. At least he allowed her to see him 'physically'.

 _{Viper, named 'Mercy'… this decision was not one even the Commander could make on his own. He had to convince 'me' in order to give you this… honor. And I am not one to be easily 'convinced' about anything.}_ He said calmly, but with great authority in each and every syllable that made her hang on his every word. _{I hope that you will not misplace my 'faith' in you… accept this honor, and enjoy the power it gives you… but remember you are XCOM now. Always live by this motto, 'Vigilo Confido', we are relied upon and we are watchful. Do not rest your guard against our enemy, and remember this above all.}_ He leaned forward toward her, and she knew he was speaking 'directly' to her. _{'We'… will be watching.}_

Then the screen turned off, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

 _ ***There is someone even more powerful than the Commander?***_ She thought nervously. _***I hope I never see him again…***_ She thought about his final words, and shuddered at what he hinted at. _***'We'… will be watching.***_

 _[Now then, with a new rank and position as an XCOM agent… comes the trust and privilege that your rank gives you Agent Mercy.]_ The Commander said, and this time Shen walked over, pulling a rather large case with her and opening it with her Gremlin's help.

Inside Mercy beheld a spectacular weapon. It looked like the XCOM's old model Plasma Sniper Rifles, but it was modified slightly. The magazine only held one round, the barrel was longer, and the aiming laser sights were removed and replaced with silencers. Next to the rifle were strange rounds, each one a varying color.

 _[As the first 'Cobra Class' in XCOM's history, we have created a special rifle for your use and your use only.]_ He continued.

"This is what I call, the VP S. Rifle MK1, a modified plasma sniper rifle for your use." Shen said as Mercy picked up the rifle and held it. "This number, has been modified with the most sophisticated silencers technology can create. Capable of firing, 14 mm plasma tipped rounds, all while capable of running in what I refer to as 'silent mode'. The recoil on the rifle has been reduced by seventy percent, and thanks to the extra length of the barrel, has an increased accuracy of twenty five percent at long range. Not only is the accuracy increased, but the range as well, capable of firing at a fifteen percent range increase over our normal Plasma Sniper Rifles. While in silent mode, any weapons fire you use with this weapon, will be almost undetectable until you fire a plasma bolt. The silent mode is meant to be used with the samples of modified rounds you see before you. Even if you're discovered, so long as you avoid line of sight, anyone being shot by this will have a very difficult time finding where you are."

"As for the more 'interesting' rounds you've noticed, I have designed several bacterial agents and poisons from the various 'Vipers' we have had aboard our ship. Thanks to them, I have created a variety of toxins with varying effects that you may find quite useful in the field." Tygan said as she examined one of the rounds, and noticed how 'thick' the liquid was inside the thin round. "Each round is capable of having various effects, from a quick acting poison, to some affecting the mind of the target. Because of how they're designed, they can be fired without alerting anyone to your position, due to how silent the rifle is. Furthermore upon being fired, the heat from the blast will cause a special acidic layer inside the round to 'melt' it, leaving no trace of what hit the target until the toxin begins to take effect. As you progress through the ranks, I'll be able to provide more 'variety' in your toxin rounds, with the Commander's approval of course."

 _[This is a special rifle only you are authorized to use Mercy, furthermore as you are now a 'Ranked' soldier in XCOM's database, I am assigning you to the Land Shark's squad as an official member of their squad.]_ The Commander said as she held it, and simply stared at the magnificent piece of engineering before her. _[You will find your new bed there, consider the space in those quarters yours to do as you see fit. If you wish to test your weapon, you are authorized to use it in the firing range whenever you see fit. I hope you find this… satisfying.]_

She looked at it one final time, before looking up at the Commander, and did the only thing she could think of to thank him for what he has given her.

She bowed before him, the only more honorable thing she could do was call him a 'Hierarch', for indeed he was the closest thing she had now to a 'Hierarch'. He led her down her path in life, he gave her purpose in the world, and she owed him and Hawkeye everything now.

" **I am… I cannot find the words to express my gratitude."** She hissed. **"I am eternally loyal to you… Commander…"**

The Commander only chuckled as he extended a gloved hand toward her. _[It's alright Agent Mercy, I have just one final thing to say.]_ He said as she shook his hand. _[Welcome to our family, welcome to XCOM, Sergeant Mercy.]_

"Welcome to the family!" Puppy yelled.

"Welcome to the crew!" Hawkeye said as everyone walked over to congratulate her, and Puppy marveled at the rifle she was holding.

(The Commander's PoV)

The Commander floated out with the 'Commander' along with Central, Shen, and Tygan while the rest of the XCOM personnel celebrated with Mercy for receiving her promotion.

 _[Thanks for posing for me.]_ He said to his bridge officer.

"Sir, how come we need to do this, doesn't everyone on board know of your position by now?" He said, his voice muffled by the robes.

 _[I have my reasons, not everyone needs to know the truth about me just yet.]_ He declared. _[That and Mercy has yet to discover the truth, I still have to be cautious if she decides to turn on us.]_

"If you're suspicious of Mercy, why promote her?" Central asked.

 _[Keep your friends close, and enemy closer.]_ He responded. _[She's easily swayed depending on which option gives her the best chance to live. She wouldn't have joined us if there was another way she could live.]_

"Either way, that rifle was a nightmare to finish in two days Commander." Shen said in a tired voice.

"Indeed, making those toxins with the intensity for such small amounts was not an easy feat to do Commander." Tygan declared.

 _[I knew you could pull it off.]_

As they separated, Central going to the bridge, Tygan to his lab, and Shen down to engineering, he made his way up to his room.

=Hiring=

{Commander's Log, Date - Unspecified}

{It is one of the duties of the XCOM Commander to keep the number of soldiers at his disposal for any mission as high as possible. After the failure to protect the Western American cell, I have no choice but to recruit former agents to our cause.}

{While recruiting former allies back into the fight is nothing new to me, this particular operative has been one that I have been reluctant to call upon for reasons which I will not put into my log.}

{Needless to say, getting this particular operative to cooperate will be a challenge…}

(The Commander's PoV)

He floated down alone into the depths of the Grey Market, following the robed individual that had asked him variously vague questions, to which he answered just as vaguely.

As they neared the fifth floor, he led him to a door, and opened it, revealing a low table with only a single light to illuminate it. Sitting across the table opposite of him, was a woman in old earth clothes, with a heavily modified Plasma Sniper Rifle hanging from her back, and a Plasma Pistol hanging from her waist.

 _[Good to see you again, Agent 007.]_ He said as the door closed behind him, and he floated over to his seat.

"It's not good to see 'you' again Commander." She said dully. "Why the floating target, afraid of speaking to your former 'agent' face to face?"

 _[You did read the file I sent you, correct?]_ He asked her.

"Naturally, I just don't much care about your 'condition'." She replied, sitting straight now and looking at him. "So tell me, why do you want me back out of retirement? You know I stopped fighting for your 'organization' when XCOM HQ was overrun. I gave Central the same speech when he tried to recruit me years ago."

 _[Yes I know… you prefer to work 'alone' Agent 007.]_ He said. _[I see you still prefer being called by your agent name.]_

"Secrecy saves the lives of our family and friends!" She answered automatically. "Rule thirty seven of the XCOM Handbook. We all call ourselves by our Agent Names to prevent anyone from hurting those we leave behind when we swear to secrecy in the name of protecting Humanity from its unknown enemies from the stars. I know the rule inside and out."

 _[Which brings me to what I ask for you.]_ He said. _[I want you to rejoin XCOM Agent 007… we need your help. We've all but lost the Western American resistance cell…]_

"Do you remember how many missions I've gone on for your organization Commander?" She interrupted suddenly.

 _[Of course… fifteen.]_

"Fifteen… fifteen covert missions to infiltrate and destroy Exalt cells across the globe." She said in frustration. "I've been across the globe for you, from the desert sands of Arabia and Egypt, to the jungles of South America and snow fields of Russia. I've killed over a hundred 'Humans', signing up to fight for 'XCOM'. I joined to fight Aliens… not humans. And yet the first thing I'm ordered to do for my very first mission as a 'Covert Operative', is to infiltrate a human organization and gather data on them… and then 'shoot' them."

She looked up at him with anger in her eyes, he had to give her credit. Not many individuals dared give him that look.

"I was one of thirty three Covert Operatives working for you Commander, but I'm the only one that ever survived the missions you sent 'me' on." She hissed. "So when XCOM fell, I did the only thing I could do, I went underground, hid from my enemy… and then when the dust settled, I did what I was trained to do. I blended back into society, I searched for my targets… and I gathered data before eliminating them."

He let her ramble because he knew it was all true, he sent operatives on missions, and often they ended in failure, with the operatives being killed. Only Agent 007 ever survived her missions.

"Seven… I was the seventh operative you hired… out of thirty three you employed. But I'm the only one left alive… not counting the other one…" She said in a voice of forced calm. "So… what's the job you've got lined up for me Commander?"

 _[It's a simple one… kill Advent Aliens and soldiers.]_ He said.

"Kill 'more' humans you mean?" She said simply. "Or is there 'one' in particular that your looking to kill?"

 _[You mean our little 'turncoat'?]_ He asked her.

"Yep… he's risen through the ranks since he left us twenty five years ago." She said. "I've been watching him rise for quite some time… and I have to say, if there's one human I'd love to kill… it's him." She hissed as she pulled out her plasma pistol and checked it. "Bastard was an operative like me, but he sold us out the moment XCOM HQ fell, thanks to him, nearly any of the other Agents who would've kept up the fight were 'eliminated', except for me."

 _[I've been keeping an eye on him as well… Big Sister is always watching.]_ He said with a chuckle. _[No, I won't have you kill humans, besides 'him' at least… the troopers are clones, cloned soldiers that resemble humans. So there's nothing to worry about. What's your answer Agent 007?]_

She sighed and holstered her pistol. "If I'm coming out of retirement for you, I want my old rank back, full rights and privileges. I also want my 'pay' for each Alien I kill, no assists or anything. Oh… and triple my usual fee."

 _[You drive a hard bargain, the only problem I see is the Bar, not sure how much liquor I can spare for a 'single' operative's fee.]_ He said. _[But I need you more than that liquor… so you've got a deal. Welcome back Agent 007.]_

She extended her arm and shook his hand, wearing what was the closest he ever saw to a smile from her today. "I have a few targets left to eliminate before I join you Commander, I'll send you a message through Big Sister when I'm ready to be picked up."

 _[I know Eagleeye will be happy to see you alive and well again.]_ He commented as he prepared to leave.

"Eagleeye's still alive huh?" She asked with a smirk. "I remember him… I caught his eye when we were younger… he was too fat."

 _[I'll await your message Agent 007.]_ He said.

=Big Sister's Watchful Eye=

{Commander's Log, Date - Unspecified}

{I once heard the line that said, 'Information is Ammunition', and that line has been with me every day since I became Commander of the XCOM Project. One of my most important duties, is to examine and check for any new information to aid our cause.}

{Up until a few years ago, Central and I have been relying on informants within the cities for potential targets. However, in more 'recent' weeks, I've come to rely on one very reliable, undetectable, source of information.}

{Big Brother may watch over one's shoulder, but Big Sister watches in more 'subtle' ways than Big Brother ever could, and she can be found in far more places than Big Brother could ever reach.}

(Big Sister's PoV)

The Camera zoomed in on the meeting chamber, and focused on two individuals sitting in the center of the room. The meeting chamber of the council of aliens within the Advent Alliance had ended, and now the screens were starting to shut off one by one.

One individual was a Human, roughly five foot seven and wearing specialized armor that marked him as a 'Commander' of a division of forces. His name was Roberto Concerto, he was classified as a former XCOM operative, and a servant of the Elders.

The other individual next to him, was a Viper, orange colored scales, and wore specialized armor as well. She was classified as the Hierarch Mother, and considered the highest ranked Viper in all of Advent.

" **The next time you decide to… implement your own plan…"** She hissed dangerously to the human Roberto. **"Warn me… so that I can prepare counter measures. This entire plan was you're doing, and because you did not involve me in it until the very end, we have lost not only a large army of cloned forces, but also the last refuge XCOM could have fallen back to. Now they will never leave their floating fortress."**

"How was I to know that the Commander would destroy the base, in fact how could I have known that there were two XCOM Agents still alive and in stasis?" He said nonchalantly. "I had planned for all of XCOM to enter the base and then kill them all in one swift stroke. Either way, what does it matter, we were going to kill them all."

" **It matters because The Commander was among them!"** She hissed furiously. **"The Elder's orders for me, are to ensure his safe capture and return to them at 'all costs'. I will not allow any harm to come to him, from anyone or anything!"**

He turned to look at her with a glare. "I did precisely what I had to do, in order to eliminate the XCOM threat!" He declared. "We are to stop XCOM so that we can resume the Avatar Project! If that means we must eliminate all of XCOM, including its Commander…"

Before he finished that statement the Hierarch Mother swung her tail and pointed the tip dangerously close to his eye. Yet he did not flinch the slightest inch. **"Do not… question… the Elders' will…"** She hissed. **"I am to capture the Commander… alive… and unharmed. You are lucky the only 'casualties' from your operation, were two 'relics'. If you had killed the Commander, I would have killed you the instant you entered my sight!"**

"How do you know he's not dead, we only confirmed that the same seven individuals who entered the base also left it." He growled.

" **Because I can still feel him…"** She whispered warmly, before removing her tail from his eye. **"Even if his chip has been removed… my chip still remembers his faint memory pattern… I can still feel him ever so subtly… he is like a drop of water vapor, at the tip of my tongue. I can barely taste it… but the taste is all the sweeter because of it!"**

"You may be interested in catching old people like the XCOM Commander, but I still say we should eliminate him with the others! As long as he is alive XCOM will not fall. Even if you capture him, they will do all they can to rescue him again. Then you'll be right back where you were. But if we eliminate him once and for all, the threat of XCOM ends, they are no match without their Commander leading them. Now that they're fighting you, they are barely a threat anymore."

" **Do not question my orders… 'Traitor'."** She hissed warningly. **"I know what my orders are… and I will not disobey them because 'you' fear his retribution. You are a traitor to them… a traitor is all you will ever be no matter how many Advent legions you command. And a traitor's death is all you will receive."** Then she smiled warmly again. **"I wonder if the Commander will kill you personally should he capture 'you'… his ferocity in combat is well known to me. After all… I followed his every battle while he was still in stasis, 'all' of his battles. He is quite notorious for seeing that which he should not be able to, and it gave him many an advantage."**

"You seem to admire this Commander greatly Hierarch Mother…" He hissed just as angrily as she hissed at him. "Perhaps your motives are driven by more than just 'loyalty' to the Elders' plan."

She only smiled wider at that statement. **"At least 'I' recognize greatness… whereas you only recognize the winning side… traitor."** She hissed, before leaving the room.

As she left, all information was downloaded and saved in the central database, and the camera turned off, before it was all uploaded.

(The Commander's PoV)

He finished watching the recording and chuckled lightly. _[Indeed… notorious for seeing that which I should not be able to.]_ He said. _[So 'you're' the one to blame for Perce and Gabriella's deaths Roberto. You came up with the ambush, and she perfected it… I can't wait to see you dead for what you made me do. There should have been 'no' deaths, but you forced my hand. I would not have minded losing the technology that made Gabriella and Perce possible… if only I could have kept them alive.]_

He turned off the screen and looked over the latest intel report on the new 'walker' that Central and Shen have given him so far.

It wasn't good, but they needed to know more before he could plan an attack on it.

 _[I need more information… I can't bring this thing down until I know how to kill it!]_

He continued to read over reports, mostly concerning how large it was, where it was spotted, and above all its next target.

The Eastern American resistance cell, it was targeting the nest next. If they didn't stop it before it reached the nest, the resistance on one entire continent would be crushed. He had to stop it before it reached the nest.

=SHIV Problems and Solutions=

{Commander's Log, Date - Unspecified}

{When it comes to overseeing XCOM's weapons and updating our standing forces, it is my job to determine where we allocate our research and engineering teams. While we typically use the weapons that our enemies create against them, we also modify them in a way so as to make them unique and different.}

{We need look no further, than the SHIV design that we recovered from XCOM HQ. This piece of engineering, created by Shen's father, is one of the finest pieces of engineering humanity has ever created to support our standing forces, as well as to displace the number of personnel we risk in operations.}

{However when it comes to 'this' particular SHIV that we recovered, it is rather difficult trying to implement it and duplicate it, as the model is a unique one, and is meant to be unique.}

(Commander's PoV)

 _[Alright, what's going on 'this' time?]_ He asked Shen as she and the SHIV were on opposite sides of the engineering room, with said SHIV aiming its Plasma Cannon at her.

 **[Commander, as your personal S.H.I.V. I must protest Chief Engineer Shen's request to dismantle my chassis!]** The SHIV declared in an angry tone. **[I am designed for your personal use on the battlefield, I am not to be taken apart and replicated like the other S.H.I.V. models.]**

"I just want to figure out how your turret is able to fire such powerful projectiles without overheating!" Shen complained loudly. "Based on your model you should not be able to fire such variety of projectiles without some kind of negative side effect. Yet not only are you able to use repeater rounds and even sniper rounds, you can also use powerful plasma blasts with the explosive yield of grenades, and even toss grenades! If I could figure out how my father managed that I could seriously improve all of our weaponry!"

 **[And make me obsolete, I don't think so!]** The SHIV shouted angrily. **[I am not letting you take me apart just to make me obsolete!]**

 _[SHIV, she's not going to make you obsolete.]_ He said in an exasperated tone. _[She just wants to see what makes you 'tick' is all. Just let her examine your turret functions. Don't make me order you just so I can go back upstairs and examine data.]_

 **[But Commander, I was built to be special and only used by you sir, if she goes and takes me apart, I'll lose what makes me special.]** The SHIV said in its sweet ten year old voice. **[I can't let her use me like I'm just some kind of hardware she can play around with!]**

 _[SHIV… let her examine your turret… or I'll shut you down and take you apart myself!]_ He said in just as sweet, yet a deadly serious tone.

 **[Y…y…yes sir!]** The SHIV answered nervously, backing up into a corner of the engineering room.

With the argument settled, I walked out with Shen to discuss her requests that he 'really' came down to discuss. "Thank you Commander, that SHIV has been a pain working with for the last few days. Won't let me anywhere near it with a screwdriver."

 _[My SHIV has some priority programming that makes her defensive when concerning anyone else touching it.]_ He told her. _[It's only natural for it to be protective of itself.]_

"Well, that's actually what I've been wanting to ask about. You see I did some small scans to check for any damages internally, and I discovered something weird about your SHIV." Shen said as she pulled out a datapad and showed him an x-ray of the SHIV from the side. "I found this strange… compartment, which seems to serve no purpose other than to simply 'be' there."

 _[Oh… and have you determined if it 'has' any purpose?]_ He asked.

"No, that's what's strange, it's not linked to any systems, it's not connected to any of the onboard armaments, it's too small to hold any ammunition, in fact it doesn't even seem to matter at all, yet it's there." Shen said while shaking her head. "It's like a pair of shoes that you never use, this compartment is just there, like it has no other purpose to exist than to simply be there. The inside space of the compartment is barely larger than a playing card, and only about two centimeters thick, and it's completely isolated from every other part of the chassis. It's like there's something 'in' there but, until the SHIV lets me open it up to see what's inside, I can't tell what is in there."

 _[Well, did you detect anything dangerous inside of it?]_ He asked her.

"No, nothing, only thing inside that I can detect are just some light plasma readings, very faint, completely harmless." She said in a sigh. "I just don't understand why my father created this piece of engineering, but built something that's almost completely pointless. It's as if he made that small compartment just so something could be 'put' in it. Only thing is, I can't think of what he could possibly have put in it that could fit inside such a small space."

 _[Well, I see nothing wrong, just leave it until you detect something else that may warrant a look inside.]_ He said nonchalantly. _[So, have you figured out a way to deploy our SHIV out into the field? The Skyranger is getting rather cramped nowadays, now that I've increased the maximum number of operatives I'm putting out on a mission to seven.]_

"That, I can say I've come up with some interesting ideas!' She said with a grin, before leading him back into engineering, and consequentially the SHIV as it still sat in the corner. "I've been thinking of something interesting that you may like Sir. The Firestorm you sent back to us is currently sitting in the hanger, and while I haven't touched it, it has given me an idea."

She tapped some things on a console and brought up the Firestorm schematic with some modifications on it.

"What I was thinking, was remotely piloting the Firestorm high over where you guys are. Using the simple method of gravity for deployment, we attach a claw to the Firestorm, and during any mission, we can simply drop your SHIV onto the field at any time you request it." She said with a smile. "Because of its low profile, and running on plasma, Advent won't pay it any attention to it on radar or scanners! Only problem, once the Firestorm drops down from its high altitude to deploy the SHIV, they'll instantly spot it and know your there. We could deploy it anywhere on the field you can give me vision to so I can remote drop safely."

 _[Impressive, and because my SHIV uses a plasma engine to hover, it can easily cushion and land safely on any terrain.]_ He said.

 **[I can't wait to be deployed in battle Commander!]** The SHIV said excitedly.

 _[You won't be if you keep giving Shen a headache.]_ He declared.

"Well, with your approval sir, I'll begin examining your SHIV's turret to see how my father pulled off what he did." Shen said as Rover flew over with her toolkit. "Based on what I'll find, I can probably come up with some new munition types for our current weapons. If I have more time, and some additional help, I could also modify our current standing armaments with the new stuff I learn to make them more effective. It will also take time to actually figure out 'how' I can safely attach your SHIV to the Firestorm so it can fly in at a high speed and drop it with precise aim, if I could get more help I could probably get it done faster."

 _[I'll see who we can spare to help you Shen, I'm already pressing the other engineers to dismantling some of the older weapons we recovered for parts and materials.]_ He declared.

"There is one other thing I want to discuss with you sir." She said. "Though we lost the actual schematics for the older SHIV models, I can use your current model as a template, to make a simple, basic, SHIV model that can run autonomously using simple targeting programs and algorithms for combat. It won't be anywhere 'near' what your SHIV is running, but it may actually help various resistance cells around the world. When we visit the various cells around the world, we can trade our supply of SHIV's in exchange for extra supplies."

 _[Very well… I'll see what I can do, for now, get to work on the turret.]_ He declared, before floating out and leaving Shen to her work.

Minutes later he floated into Tygan's lab, where he and his assistant Doctor Theodora were examining a database.

"Ah… Commander, good to see you." Tygan said.

 _[Pleasure Tygan, so you had something you wanted to talk to me about?]_

"Yes, you see Shen and I discovered your SHIV had a small cache of data stored in its vast AI." He said as he pointed at the screen, which showed work that the previous head of XCOM's science division, Doctor Vahlen, had worked on. "This cache contains details about the Gene Modifications and MEC Trooper creation, using the element called Meld."

 _[I'm not turning our soldiers into weapons Tygan if that's what you're thinking.]_ He answered instantly.

"Nor would I ask you to, no, without the element, and all of her research, I cannot reproduce the procedures for either. However… using the data that was stored in your SHIV, I can however, procure some interesting items that Shen can create, which while are nowhere near as effective as the genetic modifications are, can vastly improve our forces in the field." He said.

"Commander, we've only examined a small snippet of this database, but from it we've already come up with an improved Medical Kit, capable of rapidly increasing the healing rate the skin and muscle regenerates at by at least two thousand percent!" Theodora declared proudly. "It is only temporary, and while we have yet to perfect it so that the subject won't experience long term damage, the potential is enormous!"

"Yes Commander, with your permission, and some additional staff to assist in analyzing the data, we can expand on this long lost research." Tygan said. "As for the MEC Trooper research, I believe Shen can use the data more than I can, but she could perhaps use it to improve the armor our forces are wearing, or even procure even more effective armor."

 _[I see, very well, I'll see what I can do Tygan. For now, keep working on that database and the Medical Kit you spoke of.]_

"Of course Commander." Tygan declared.

With that, he floated out of the lab and back up to his room.

=Enlisting=

{Commander's Log, Date - Unspecified}

{Being the Commander of any force, means recognizing when my current standing forces are not enough for a task. I have to remind myself many a times, that I am the leader of a resistance force, but at the same time, my XCOM is not an 'army', and cannot handle large scale warfare that some situations are destined to devolve into.}

{Upon learning of the size of the escorting force protecting the 'walker' that one of my engineers, Athena, had been working on prior to being discovered, I had no choice but to seek out those with the necessary skills and resources to assist me.}

{While finding an army is not an easy task, especially to deal with a powerful threat like this walker which Central and I have nicknamed, the 'Widow', due to its resemblance to an earth spider, I have my own resources that I can call upon to help me with this endeavor.}

{The only problem is convincing him that such an attack is worth the price. It is one thing asking a group of six individuals, highly trained, well equipped, and with the element of surprise into an operation. It is another to ask at least one hundred individuals to risk their lives against overwhelming firepower, when they do not have the luxury of our technology aiding them.}

(The Commander's PoV)

" **Ah my old friend, it is good to hear your voice again!"** The clearly drunk 'general', General Thomas Jones, declared.

 _[Good to see you two General.]_ He declared over the coms as he spoke to his friend over the resistance network.

His general friend was one of the last remaining generals alive from the old days. However, upon the United States surrendering and joining the Advent Administration, he and his standing forces became a bunch of terrorists, striking at Advent wherever they could. His XCOM and the 'Paine Boys' as he called them, never got along very well because of their methods.

" **So, what you need from me today kid, another round of scotch?"** He asked him boisterously.

 _[No, actually I need your assistance in dealing with a critical threat to the resistance effort Thomas.]_ He said in his most serious and official voice.

Hearing the tone of his voice the general lost his drunk look almost instantly and became very serious. **"How serious are we talking?"**

 _[Twelve days ago, a single mechanical Sectopod walker, referred to as the 'Widow', along with its support force destroyed almost the entire Western American resistance cell.]_ He said quietly. _[As far as we know, there is no longer a Western American resistance cell, but until I hear word of the casualty reports, I'm running under the assumption that they have been wiped out.]_

" **Damn… wiped out entirely… bastards must have hit them hard."** He replied in a quiet tone.

 _[As you can expect, this walker is now heading its way toward the Nest… the Eastern American resistance cell.]_ He continued. _[If we lose the Nest general, we lose the resistance on the continent. If word spreads that North America no longer offers any resistance to Advent, the other cells will be effected, and it will be a domino effect. We cannot allow the nest to fall if the resistance is to stand a chance.]_

" **So why do you need me Commander?"** Thomas asked. **"Your forces are meant for quick strike operations, why do you need my boys to assist in beating this thing down?"**

 _[It's as you just said General, my force aren't meant for such large scale battles. The protecting force accompanying this thing numbers roughly a hundred plus. Even against such overwhelming firepower of the Widow by itself, those numbers make it almost impossible for us to even get near it, let alone destroy it. If my forces are to destroy it, we need to deal with it when the Widow is alone and unprotected.]_

" **Which is where my boys come in."** He finished. **"Alright, I suppose it wouldn't be good to just let our resistance movement roll over and die. But I've got one question to ask… how dangerous is this thing?"**

 _[It's more dangerous than jumping into a pool of starving sharks with a fresh cow's leg in your hand.]_

" **Okay… and on a scale of one to ten… how likely are we to come out of this alive?"** He asked now.

 _[You're more likely to survive jumping in front of a train running toward you and jumping out of the way, then coming out alive.]_ He said honestly.

" **Alright… and the chance of success if we pull this off?"**

 _[Even if everything goes according to plan, without knowing its weaknesses, my Gremlin estimates only a six percent chance of defeating this thing at this time. As for assuming if we knew its weakness, it estimates only a seventeen percent chance of success.]_

" **So basically a plan that's immensely dangerous, with a large chance of death, and a small chance of success… well… what are we waiting for?"** He boasted loudly. **"I'll get my boys to the Eastern American region by the end of the week, should be enough time for you to figure out how to bring it down Commander!"**

 _[Thank you, happy hunting General.]_

" **Commander, when this is over with, I owe you a drink!"** He said cheerfully.

 _[I've got a brandy that's from nineteen twenty that I've been wanting to pop.]_ He replied. _[I'll see you then.]_

As the transmission ended, he sighed, and began heading back to the bridge to discuss his plans with Central.


	15. Chapter 15

(The Commander's PoV)

He floated in front of his computer, examining data that Shen and Central have been able to procure from various resistance cell members who managed to spy on the 'Widow' and its support force. So far all they've learned is that it is roughly twenty meters long, thirty meters tall, and supports heavy anti personal armaments and heavy artillery weapons. For defensive armaments it uses the same armored plating found on the alien's UFO's, and for mobility gets around on eight legs and has a maximum speed of ten MPH.

Despite its slow movement speed for something so large, Shen reported that based on the hull information they've found out from the information Athena had from working on the prototype that it was virtually impenetrable to any weapon the resistance had. She also said that, even if she had the resources, she doubted that there was anything she could come up with that could even put a 'dent' in its armor, let alone punch a hole in it.

Central reported that it would also be within striking range of the Nest in four days, but right now it was passing by an Advent base that was heavily guarded and shielded. So an attack now would be suicide.

General Thomas Jones reported that his forces were set up and ready to move on the Widow's support forces whenever he got the signal.

But in order for him to make a move 'on' the Widow, he needed to know how to crush it. Without the information to destroy it, there was no way he could even hope to damage it.

 _[There's got to be a way…]_ He thought bitterly as his Gremlin calculated its movement based on where it was and how far away it was to the Advent Base, and from there to the Nest. _[Everything has a weakness, there is 'nothing' indestructible!]_

He tried finding out a weakness from his ace contact, but Big Sister had no new information to give him, other than that it was deadly dangerous, with an expected crew compliment of at least sixty. Combined with the hundred plus Mutons and Advent Troopers guarding it, his small band of seven would be hopelessly outmatched even with Jones' support.

Then of course, there was the Widow itself, built with enough armaments, the Widow had enough firepower to wipe out the Resistance once and for all. They 'had' to destroy it, but as he had been doing for the past seven hours, the question remained.

How?

Then, just as he was about to begin the routine again, he suddenly got a message from the Command Center. {Commander, we've got an incoming priority message for you!} A woman said over the intercom. {Your eyes only, heavily encrypted, coming from an unknown network.}

At that he became intrigued. There were only two ways to get a message to 'anyone' in the world lately, first was the Advent Network, which monitored everything globally. As for the second, was the resistance network, which piggybacked off of the Advent Network and wasn't the most reliable way to get any messages anywhere quickly.

So for anyone to get a secret message to them without using those two methods, he was intrigued. _[Patch it in.]_

He watched as the transmission came in, and began to decrypt it when he recognized the encryption sequence.

 _{HOLY TS TMIIN RECS Y N ME, ES I HE HEICS OR TE NW PRTE LKER MOL.}_ The first part read. _{TE WAR IS APPNG TE VENT E, I MT B RED. A SEND WER IS BING PECTED TRE HAT WL CLASS TE PRTYE.}_

After filling in the blanks, decrypting the data, and looking at the message again, it read, _{HOPEFULLY THIS TRANSMISSION REACHES YOU IN TIME, ENCLOSED IS THE SCHEMATICS FOR THE NEW PROTOTYPE WALKER MODEL.}_ As for the second passage, _{THE WALKER IS APPROACHING THE ADVENT BASE, IT MUST BE DESTROYED. A SECOND WALKER IS BEING PERFECTED THERE THAT WILL OUTCLASS THE PROTOTYPE.}_

He quickly examined the schematics and began checking them, and examining it with the speed his Gremlin was known for. _[Yes… yes perfect!]_ He declared as he read the files, as well as some interesting data that was put in at the very end. _[It might just work…]_ He tapped into the coms again and brought up Shen in engineering. _[Shen!]_

 _{Yawwwn… Commander… what is it, I was just about to turn in for the night?}_ She said as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. _{Is this about your hover pads? I told you I'll have them fixed tomorrow.}_

 _[Get coffee, wake up, I need Sixteen charges of X-4 prepped within half an hour!]_ He shouted.

 _{Sixteen charges, what for?}_ She asked in confusion.

 _[No time to explain, get it done!]_ He ordered before switching to Central in the command center. _[Central, prep the Skyranger for launch, wake up the Sharks, we've got an emergency mission!]_

 _{A mission, Commander what's going on?}_ He asked in confusion.

 _[I'll explain in a while, for now, do what I said, time is of the essence!]_ He ordered, before again switching off and tapping into the coms, this time sending an urgent message to General Thomas.

Moments later he picked up. **"Commander, what's up?"** He said seriously. **"My forces are in position, awaiting your order to…"**

 _[General, prepare your boys to move in twenty minutes!]_ He declared. _[I've just found a weakness in the Widow, and we need to take advantage of it while it's passing by the nearby Advent Base!]_

" **The Advent Base, Commander there's got to be at least three times what's guarding this giant spider at that base!"** He said in confusion. **"Are you crazy? Why target it now, why not wait until it passes the base?"**

 _[No time to explain General, we have to hit it now, or else this Widow will be the 'least' of our concerns!]_ He declared. _[There's another one being built at 'that' base, a perfected model, if it gets built we'll never destroy it!]_

" **So how do we blow it up while blowing 'this' one up?"** He asked.

 _[Leave that to me General, if what I have planned works, Advent won't know what hit them!]_ He said.

Once again, he turned off the com, before tapping into a communicated message to his agent in the field, 007. _[Agent 007, come in Agent 007.]_

The only thing that came up was a blackened portrait of a woman. **"This had better be important Commander, using a priority one signal is against the regulation code for secrecy, even for 'you'. Especially at half past midnight!"** She answered with an angry whisper.

 _[We might have need of your sniping capabilities at these coordinates, one of your 'targets' will be present there.]_ He said.

" **I see… very well, I'll be ready… and remember Commander."** She said, sounding wide awake now. **"Only 'I' get to kill the target…"**

 _[Understood Agent 007, just make sure you follow the trail… and be ready for the kill.]_ He said.

" **I'm your best agent Commander, don't I always get my kill?"** She asked proudly.

Once more, he turned off the com and tapped into his final message from the Avenger's com system. Moments later he received a return call. _{Hello little brother, what seems to be the problem?}_ Big Sister asked him sweetly.

 _[This is XCOM Commander, issuing a priority one Omega Protocol Order, override existing procedures and execute Delta Program Three two seven!]_ He said instantly.

 _{Understood, what are your orders?}_ Big Sister said, instantly dropping the little girl voice and routine.

 _[Have you finished developing the virus?]_ He asked.

 _{Affirmative.}_

 _[Is it ready to be deployed?]_

 _{Affirmative.}_

 _[Very well, when you next receive my signal, download a copy of your AI into the system I contact you from, and include a copy of the virus. Furthermore, delete all record of the virus and any anti viruses you have along with the copy and await further instructions under normal communication procedures.]_

 _{Understood.}_

With that he turned off the com at long last and heard the general message for the Land Sharks squad to report to the armory. Knowing that it was well past midnight, and his Sharks would most likely have been in bed, he sent a message to Tygan, who was up late working on new Medikit data, to prepare something to help his Sharks wake up.

=Chapter 15, No more Fear=

(Hawkeye's PoV, ten minutes later)

" **What is happening?"** Mercy asked quietly as she and the others headed to the Skyranger pad after reporting to the armory.

"Late night mission…" He answered while Puppy yawned loudly.

"Must be important if 'we're' up while the others get to sleep in." Sharptooth said wearily.

"Remind me to bring extra coffee the next time we get called for a late mission!" Eagleeye said as his Gremlin flew over them all.

"Either way, this is ganna be one big mission if we all carrying X-4 charges!" T-Rex said loudly as he held four charges of X-4, carrying Puppy's two because she was busy trying to wake up, along with his grenade launcher and Beam Cannon.

As they reached the Skyranger the Commander flew in first, and they quickly followed suit. Taking his usual seat, he sat next to Mercy at the end closest to where the door was while the Skyranger began shaking as it took off from the helipad.

 _[Alright Sharks, no Central to brief you today.]_ He said as the screen turned on behind him to reveal a giant walking robotic spider. _[Our mission today is of the utmost crucial, which is why I've awoken you guys so soon after you fell asleep.]_

"Oh don't mind us Commander…" Puppy said tiredly while she was handed a cup of coffee. "I mean, we were only sound asleep all comfy and cozy in our nice warm beds… but if it's of the 'utmost crucial', wake us up at one in the morning!"

 _[Yes it is Agent Puppy, because if we fail here, the resistance is over.]_ He declared, which got everyone's attention, including Puppy who stopped mid-yawn. _[I will not lie to you Sharks, this is a mission that cannot go in any other way than perfect, if we are to keep the resistance going. If we do not pull off a miracle tonight… then everything we have done up until now, will have been in vain, and a wasted effort.]_

Everyone went silent again, and only the hum of the Gremlin hover pads could be heard. "So, what's the mission Commander?" Hawkeye asked calmly.

The Commander turned to the screen as it changed to show the robotic spider and size comparisons, as well as data that he couldn't understand fast enough.

 _[Say hello to Advent's latest 'Peace Keeping' unit, the 'Widow'.]_ He declared. _[Created by a 'brilliant' human scientist who died developing it, to a resistance 'terrorist' attack. The Widow represents the pinnacle combination of Human conception and Alien engineering, designed to be virtually 'unstoppable', and created to 'be' virtually unstoppable.]_ He said. _[The Widow is equipped with numerous anti personal weaponry on its underside, to repel infantry forces and any vehicles combating it. It has armored plating which is the same material found on the hull of UFO's, virtually impenetrable to anything the resistance has or can have. Finally, it's equipped with heavy artillery weapons to deal with distance targets or heavily entrenched positions. Only our Firestorm model fighter can punch a hole in it, and it would take a number of them to bring it down…]_

" **But you have only 'one' Firestorm fighter…"** Mercy concluded. **"And if I remember, Shen has redesigned it to carry your SHIV."**

 _[Exactly Agent Mercy.]_ He said. _[Which means, we have only one way to bring this thing down, a quick, efficient strike from an elite and highly mobile team of soldiers.]_

"I'm glad you have confidence in us Commander, but that thing looks and sounds as deadly as you make it out to be…" Sharptooth said. "What can the seven of 'us' do against it?"

 _[This Widow has the toughest armor ever seen, but as with every prototype, there are some glaring flaws in its design.]_ He declared, and the screen showed a close up of its legs, particularly the joints. _[The armored shell of the legs and body are comprised of the tough UFO metal hull, as stated before, but the joints connecting the legs to the main body, are not so nearly indestructible.]_

 _{It may be a tough shell, but everything has a weak point.}_ Shen said. _{Based on the schematics the Commander gave me, the leg joints are the only thing weak enough for us to damage with what we've got. Two charges of X-4 should be enough to bring down each of its eight legs.}_

"But… we only have fourteen charges with us Commander!" Puppy said.

 _[My SHIV will be carrying the remaining two on it, and once I give Shen the signal, she'll drop in SHIV at one of the leg's coordinates to secure it. This way when we get to its position, we'll only need to plant the charges SHIV brings with it. As for the other seven legs, well, you know what kind of job demolition work is Sharks.]_

"Yes but, Commander, why are we doing this operation so late at night?" Hawkeye asked.

 _[Funny thing about that Hawkeye, when it comes to fate, she never can be predictable, and nor is she someone who works the way you want her to.]_ He said with a chuckle. _[But when she decides to drop by, you let her in the door whether it's the right time or not.]_ The screen now changed to show an Advent facility. _[Our Widow is currently on course for the Nest, but it will be passing by an Advent base, one which is currently building a more 'perfected' model of the prototype. It also happens to be the main production facility for Advent's mechanical forces, producing forty five percent of Advent's Sectopods, MEC units, and Andromedon Shells. Which is why when we board it, we'll take control of the Widow, and adjust its course so that we can use it to destroy the base, and with it the 'perfected' model before it can be built.]_

"And when we blow up the base and the Walker… we blow up the Widow!" Eagleeye said. "Three birds… one stone!"

"But what about support forces, something this important wouldn't be walking around without one?" Sharptooth asked.

 _[There are support forces Agent Kelly, in fact, too many for us to deal with, but at the moment they're a little distracted.]_ He said, and the screen showed what looked like plasma fire being exchanged from a high position. _[General Thomas Jones and his forces are keeping them occupied, buying us the time to deal with the Widow. But, we don't have much time… he can't hold them off forever. The Widow has not changed its course or its speed, meaning even if it loses its support forces, new support will most likely regroup with it or they will disengage once it has reached a certain distance. We won't get another chance to blow up this thing, and deal a crippling blow to Advent. It's either now, or never.]_

"Don't need to say another word Commander, you need something wrecked, just give us the word!" Puppy said with a smile.

" **Yes…"**

 _{Sorry to interrupt, but there's another reason we need to destroy this thing that you guys need to know about!}_ Shen interrupted over the talk. _{I've been doing some digging into this 'thing's' weapon designs, and I've learned something interesting. My father helped build this monstrosity…}_

"Wait, wait wait what?" Puppy yelled. "Why would your father sell us out?"

 _[He didn't, what Shen means is that this thing's weaponry was designed, indirectly, by former Chief Engineer Shen.]_ The Commander declared.

 _{This thing uses a weapon design similar to what the SHIV uses for its main turret.}_

 _ **[Wait, so this thing uses an Adaptive Plasma based weapon system, so that means it can deploy any type of plasma based weaponry from any of its turrets at any time!]**_ The SHIV declared angrily in the background.

 _[Yes, as my SHIV so eloquently stated, the same adaptive weapon system my SHIV uses to deploy any type of plasma based weapon on the field, is the same design model being employed by the Widow. No doubt stolen from XCOM HQ, prior to it falling, a 'second' time…]_ He said with a fury none of them ever heard. _[As you know, Advent was in control of XCOM HQ for a month, and during that month, they turned it into a clone production facility, but like 'us', they found technology long lost and recovered it. One of those, was my SHIV's adaptive weaponry system design that Chief Engineer Shen developed for it. As for 'how', well the answer can be found because of a traitor, who orchestrated the entire operation…]_

" **Traitor… but the Hierarch Mother planned it all, she said so herself."** Mercy hissed in confusion.

 _[Wrong, she only perfected the trap that forced me to kill two of my agents…]_ He growled furiously, and this time everyone heard the hatred. _[The person who conceived of the trap, is also the one who probably got the weapon design specs. He was a former Agent of XCOM, who turned traitor the moment our HQ fell years ago, and joined the Advent Administration. He also saw to it that those operatives who could and would have joined us, never got the chance again…]_

"Wait… are we talking about, 'that agent'?" Eagleeye asked.

(Mercy's PoV)

 _[Yes Eagleeye, former Agent 'Viper', Roberto Concerto.]_ He said.

At that everyone looked at Mercy, and she looked at them all in confusion.

 _[Not in any way related to current members present.]_ He continued. _[Besides, we have another reason to attack this thing. Destroying the base, the Widow, and finally the unfinished perfected model are three objectives tonight that we must achieve. We also have a side objective, if we can achieve it.]_

" **And that would be?"** Mercy asked.

 _[The intelligence report I received today, indicated that a member of the Alien High Council, the leaders of Advent, just short of the Elders, is currently overseeing the operation of exterminating the resistance in North America. I have no idea 'who' it is, but even if it is who I think it is, we can't waste such an opportunity.]_

"So scrap the giant Widow, scrap a base, scrap another 'Widow', and finally kill a leading alien, sounds like a list of chores." Puppy said half-heartedly. "But then again, we're the Land Sharks, and with the other two squads out of the picture for a while, who better to do it than us? We're the best, we're the most balanced, and we get the tough jobs the others can't do."

 _[My thoughts exactly Puppy… I will not lie to you though, my Gremlin has calculated the chances of our success at a slim, seventeen percent chance… and that is being generous.]_ He said. _[There is a very high likelihood of all of us, not coming back to the Skyranger, 'alive', in fact it's so high that it's almost a guarantee that not all of us will make it out alive. I will do my best to make sure we all come back alive, but I will not blame 'any' of you… if any of you wish to back out now. Right now we're in silent mode, or 'red', once those lights turn green, anyone not sitting, is going on the mission. So if anyone wishes to remain here on board the Skyranger, you now know the condition.]_

Mercy heard what he said, but was confused, he was offering them a chance to turn away? Why would he offer them the chance to back out?

But unfortunately, she didn't have the chance, as the light suddenly turned orange.

 _[Sharks… prep gear, and get ready.]_ He said as he floated over to the door.

Mercy looked around at her comrades, and saw them all prepping their gear without any reservations or hesitation. But she, as she always did, looked down nervously at her weapon. She had the option right now, to simply not go on this mission, he said so himself that he wouldn't blame 'any' of them if they stayed behind.

But then she glanced down at her shoulder, to where her new rank shone proudly, with her 'class' insignia shining brightly in the dim light of the Skyranger. Next to it, was the Wolf Squad badge, with the insignia of the wolf glimmering just as faintly. Then she remembered Perce's final words to them, to all of them, including 'her' she felt.

 _ ***Protect our Eden among the stars, defend it to your deaths… I have fulfilled my duty, I leave the rest to you.***_

She sighed deeply, before glancing at her new weapon again, and asked herself why she ever had such second thoughts. She made a promise, she joined XCOM to save Earth now. She no longer had a home, so why would she abandon her new family when they needed her now more than ever.

She checked her ammo, made sure her weapon was primed and ready, and checked to see that it was empty so she knew which ammunition type the Commander would ask her to deploy.

Then she got up with the rest of the Sharks, glancing warmly at Hawkeye who took the lead position as always, behind the Commander. Behind her, Sharptooth grinned as she slid her Arc Blade into its sheath. Puppy was behind Sharptooth, and she loaded up her rifle with the Reaper Rounds she was given, giving her a wink with one eye. Behind Puppy was T-Rex as he nodded his head, as if listening to music during his off time in their quarters. Eagleeye was behind T-Rex and his Gremlin gave him a green light for its charges and programs. As for Falcon, he merely loaded his weapon with the same calm, cool and collected attitude that she had come to know from a Psi Operative.

They were her family now, and she had to stand beside them now more than ever, if they were all to make it out alive.

Suddenly the light turned green and the Skyranger lurched slightly.

{We're in the pipe, five by five kids, got a big ol spider needs squashing and I have a case of Arachnophobia, so don't let the tail door hit you on the way out!} The pilot said.

The door opened and ropes were lowered, and they heard the sound of huge metallic footsteps below them.

 _[Move out Sharks!]_ The Commander declared as he flew out.

Hawkeye jumped forward and grabbed the first rope, then she slithered forward and extended her new wrist hook Shen gave her to grab the rope more easily, and slid down it and to the metallic surface of the Widow. One by one the other Land Shark squads took up their positions beside her and Hawkeye, weapons ready for any threat that may appear.

(007's PoV)

She watched through the binoculars as the Commander and his Sharks landed at the rear of the Widow, and focused first on the Gremlin, then on the 'Viper'.

"Let's see… right on time… though this doesn't give me the best line of sight what with all the trees." She whispered before looking down at her data pad.

On it was a secret transmission from some 'unknown' source, containing the data for her latest targets.

"So my targets are the Traitor, and the Commander… one Human, one Viper…" She whispered before examining the terrain for the most optimal positions to snipe from. "This should do, gives me a good view point, isolated, gives me perfect access to an escape route and lets me see for a maximum range of three thousand yards for my rifle."

She checked her rifle, checked her ammo, and smiled. She had just enough rounds for two more targets.

Then she pulled out her multipurpose knife, and checked to make sure it would be ready.

"One shot… one kill…" She said as she walked over to her motorcycle, rigged it up, and took off down the vegetation path to the cliff site. "Just as you always wanted of me Commander.


	16. Chapter 16

{Incoming Transmission . . .}

{ /watch?v=NtVAh1WEc_o }

{Ending Transmission . . .}

=Chapter 16, Salutems and Vale – Commander, Pt 1=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

The Widow, for all the information and hype the Commander and Shen had built around it, Hawkeye felt that mere words could not describe how 'deadly' the robotic spider was. The Skyranger had dropped him and the other Sharks at the rear of the Spider, directly at the edge of the abdomen section. To his left and right he could see the lumbering legs lift up, move, lower, and land on the ground with a thundering smash. Along the upper portion of the body that they were on he could see low walls, sections of the body where metal beams were holding the whole thing together every few feet.

-Clunk, Clunk-

Each time the Widow took a step, it made that same sound, and it was taking four steps at regular intervals, two on the left and two on the right, before the other two on both sides took there steps. Then the cycle repeated. All the while it was marching, he saw various anti air turrets moving around on the tips of each leg, searching for aerial threats to the Widow. At the head he could barely see several powerful artillery cannons rotating forty five degrees every few seconds as it walked.

Thinking about the numerous anti personal cannons on its underbelly, he shook his head and tried not to imagine just how deadly it was underneath, and was at least glad that they only armed its upper body with minimal protection.

"This thing is huge…" Puppy whispered in awe as they all took up positions. "It's going to take us at least two hours total just to reach all of the legs, let alone planting all the charges while under fire!"

 **"** **To think the Elders would refer to 'this' as a 'Peace Keeper'."** Mercy hissed distastefully over the coms.

"If this is a 'Peace Keeper', then my uncle is Saint Peter's brother!" Sharptooth commented.

"Commander, we don't have time to head to each leg one at a time." Eagleeye said.

{You have that right Sharks, the Widow will be passing the base in under an hour, if we can't commandeer this monster the reinforcements will meet up with it and overwhelm you.} Central said. {The only way you'll be able to pull this off is if you split up into two teams and work your way to each leg, planting the charges as you go. Shen says there's a hatch somewhere in the middle that the Commander can enter through to reach the bridge.}

 _[Look alive Sharks, we got company!]_ The Commander said suddenly, switching their cameras to see what he saw.

About fifteen yards away, just rising from a retractable platform, were three Advent solders, two Troopers and one Officer.

(Mercy's PoV)

 _[Agent Mercy, let's give your new weapon a tryout.]_ The Commander commented as he began to give them all simultaneous orders. _[Load up the Neutralizer Round, the yellow dart, target the Officer.]_

 **"** **Understood…"** She hissed while the Sharks began to move forward, splitting up into two teams, Sharptooth, Eagleeye, and Falcon going left with Puppy, while Hawkeye and T-Rex went right.

She opened up her rifle to load up one of the rounds, pulling out a dart filled with a yellow liquid. Loading it up she clamped it shut, and took aim down the newly attached scope she had been allowed to take.

 _[Good, they don't see us just yet, alright Mercy, target the Officer on the left. The shot will disorient him in a few minutes as it takes effect, and he'll be distracted and give imprecise orders.]_

She nodded and aimed carefully, before pulling the trigger.

The rifle barely gave off a sound as it fired, only the tiniest of hisses could be heard as the dart flew from the end. Through the scope she watched it hit the Officer on the neck, and saw it melt instantly upon delivering its deadly cargo of poison. He flinched slightly, looked around, before scratching at the tiny mark left by the dart.

She was in awe at how 'silent' her weapon was, and how effective the dart was at delivering its poison without being noticed.

 _[Nice shot Mercy, now for your next target, use the Neural Poison shot, on the Trooper stationed on the right. That poison will slowly infect the brain, putting the target into a rage, causing him to attack anything nearby, even if it's an ally.]_

 **"** **Right…"** She hissed as she pulled out her next dart, one with purple liquid in it.

She loaded it into the rifle, locked it, took aim, and fired the next shot, hitting the Trooper precisely on the neck.

The Trooper only twitched slightly, before resuming his normal stance, looking around for a threat while the Sharks continued to creep forward. Soon though the Commander had ordered them all into Overwatch, with everyone stationed just behind various low grates acting as cover.

 _[Well done Mercy, but for now, load up a normal plasma shot, we can't waste anymore of your poison darts, you only have a limited number and we may need them later on. Your target is the remaining Trooper, one shot to the head should bring him down!]_

 **"** **Understood."** She said, taking a plasma bolt and loading it up, taking aim and firing the silent shot at the remaining Trooper that had been left unaffected.

She fired the bolt, and even though her rifle was as silent as Shen said it would be, the bolt smacked into and put a burning hole into the cranium and helmet of the Advent Trooper.

 **"** **Graaaah."** The Trooper yelled.

Mercy smirked as her target fell to the ground, dead from one shot. **_*That… was for Perce and Gabriella!*_** She thought proudly.

The Officer and Trooper reacted quickly though, turning to face the Sharks who were just barely visible now. **"Yelash te Soomash!"** The Officer declared, before they both took cover, just as the platform lowered and raised up again, bringing an additional three Troopers.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

As the Troopers came up, the Sharks began Overwatch firing the new arrivals.

Two were instantly brought down by combined plasma rifle fire from Sharptooth and Hawkeye. The third took considerable damage from the rifle shot and beam cannon of T-Rex and Falcon. Puppy, being Puppy, only damaged one of the Troopers with her conventional rifle.

 _[Eagleeye, we don't have time to waste on these guys, Capacitor Discharge the Officer now!]_

Hawkeye watched as Eagleeye's Gremlin flew over to the Officer and unloaded a massive electrical discharge on him.

 **"** **Garh…"** He yelled before raising his arm. **"Tarash Me… tooya!"** He yelled out, pointing to his right.

The remaining Trooper that was left ran forward and aimed his rifle, aiming at him and T-Rex, but only hit the steel cover they were behind. Yet the order he was given had left him completely standing in the open.

 _[T-Rex, target the Trooper with your Beam Cannon now!]_

"Lighting the Fires, and kicking the tires!" T-Rex called out as he unloaded his barrage, obliterating the Trooper.

 **"** **Tarash… me… Toroa…"** The Officer yelled, trying to give out instructions, apparently to target him, but Hawkeye only smirked as Mercy's poison was beginning to affect their minds now.

The Officer was confused, unable to give proper instructions and issuing orders incorrectly.

As for the Trooper that Mercy shot.

 **"** **Graaaaawr!"** The Trooper yelled before shooting the wounded Officer, bringing him down with several plasma bolts to his back. **"Gr… gra… Garwa!"** He kept yelling out, shooting randomly in Puppy's direction now, but with aim even worse than hers.

 _[Mercy, put him out of his misery. Give him the only 'mercy' we can give him.]_ The Commander said, getting a chuckle from everyone at his pun.

 **"** **Graawra…"** He yelled before suddenly jolting, and falling backward, dead.

 **"** **Target… neutralized."** Mercy hissed over the coms.

 _[Keep moving Sharks, the first two legs are in front of us, and we just wasted six of our precious fifty five minutes on their welcoming committee.]_ He said. _[Mercy, move up and regroup with Hawkeye and T-Rex.]_

 **"** **Understood!"** She said as the Commander issued them orders to move forward and leave the abdomen section.

They proceeded forward, with him and T-Rex jogging slightly under the weight of their X-4 charges on their backs. The first leg was in front of them, standing sixty feet high above them and extending outward for at least seventy five feet from what he could tell. They were beginning to pass a nearby rocky ledge that was smashed as the leg came down and destroyed it.

 _[More Contacts!]_ The Commander said, showing them an image of the same loading platform bringing up additional reinforcements.

His helmet optical lens showed him four aliens coming up this time, two Sectoids and a pair of Mutons.

"Looks like they bringing out the big guns, ganna be a fun night tonight!" T-Rex said.

 _[T-Rex, Puppy, move into position at the legs and begin planting the X-4 Charges, we have no time to waste!]_ The Commander said. _[Everyone else, cover them while they plant the charges, eliminate these threats swiftly! Sharptooth, Hawkeye, focus down the two Sectoids, Falcon, soul lance the Muton on the left, Mercy, Eagleeye, bring down the last Muton!]_

"Firing!" Hawkeye said as he took aim and fired at the Sectoid, across the metal body of the Widow a second plasma shot flew by and took the other Sectoid down.

"Nailed it!" Sharptooth yelled.

The Mutons roared in fury, but while one was brought down to combined firepower from the still unseen Mercy, and Eagleeye's plasma rifle, the other Muton endured the powerful psionic attack from Falcon.

"Target still moving." Falcon said calmly.

 **"** **Groaaaaaaar!"** The Muton screamed in anger before firing off several blasts of plasma from its rifle at him.

He ducked to avoid the attack, but before he could return fire the Muton suddenly froze up, and fell forward dead.

 **"** **Dead."** Mercy hissed.

"Wow… someone sure reacted fast." Sharptooth commented. "Commander was about to give me the order to kill it."

 **"** **I just wanted to save Hawkeye, was it wrong?"** Mercy hissed.

 _[No, but next time let me decide who shoots what, understand Mercy?]_ The Commander said. _[Alright Sharks keep moving on to the next legs, Puppy and T-Rex will work on these charges, we can't waste time.]_

"Good luck guys, try not to get in trouble without me!" Puppy said.

"Hang in there kiddies!" T-Rex said.

They moved onward and moments later Mercy slithered up to his side, giving him a warm smile.

"Thanks back there." He said.

 **"** **You have saved me… I save you now."** She hissed warmly.

 _[More contacts!]_ The Commander yelled as they approached the next pair of legs.

He showed them all the same platform rising up, again, but this time bringing three Berserkers.

(Mercy's PoV)

"Holy mother of mercy." Eagleeye whispered over the coms.

 **"** **Why does everyone think my Hierarch Mother is 'holy' or 'sweet'?"** Mercy asked as she readied her aim.

"Figure of speech Mercy!" Hawkeye said.

 _[Hawkeye, Eagleeye, move into position for the X-4 charges. Mercy, Sharptooth, Falcon, cover fire!]_

Mercy loaded her rifle, took aim, and fired at one of the Mutons. At the same time a plasma bolt from Sharptooth and rifle rounds from Falcon targeted the other two Mutons. Her shot hit the Berserker in the head, but despite the improvements her weapon had compared to her other long range teammates, she could not fell the monster in one shot like the other, weaker targets.

 **"** **GRAAAAAAAAAWR!"** They all roared.

 _[Shen, deploy SHIV at these coordinates!]_ The Commander ordered.

{I thought you would never ask!} Shen said.

As the three Berserkers roared and began charging, they were suddenly distracted by an even louder roar, but it was the roar of a plasma engine high above them. They all looked up, including Mercy as a single sparkle of light blue appeared in the sky, flying fast toward them and moving lower.

Suddenly it flew right over them, but not before the Commander's SHIV was dropped in the middle of them, levitating down to avoid crashing.

 ** _[I'm on the battlefield!]_** SHIV said eagerly, before looking up at the three Berserkers. **_[Uh… what do I do now?]_**

 _[SHIV, rapid fire mode, target the Berserker directly in front of you!]_ The Commander ordered instantly.

 ** _[Initiating attack protocols… targeting the enemy!]_** SHIV yelled.

Mercy could not help but chuckle, it was absolutely absurd, hearing a synthetic young human girl's voice coming from the SHIV, while at the same time it was unloading an intense round of plasma shots like T-Rex's Beam Cannon.

 _[Sky mode now SHIV, switch to Plasma Cannon Mode!]_

 ** _[Updating battle parameters!]_** SHIV declared enthusiastically.

The Berserkers roared and tried to smash at SHIV, but after it blasted the first target, the SHIV levitated higher and out of their reach, before unloading another plasma shot variant. This time mimicking a rocket launcher.

 ** _[Hooray, how many points do I receive for three Berserkers Commander?]_** The SHIV asked happily as it landed amidst the three corpses.

"I have to say… I don't know which is scarier… three Berserkers all yelling in unison, or the Commander's SHIV asking about a scorecard?" Sharptooth asked.

 _[We have no time to waste, move forward, we're down fifteen minutes in our fifty five minute timeline! That leaves us forty left! And I still need to infiltrate this thing to get control of it!]_

Mercy nodded as she saw her next movement was to the third leg. She slithered forward while the SHIV levitated over and followed behind.

 ** _[Now this is frontline combat, I can't wait to face more enemies!]_** SHIV said happily.

 **"** **Why are you so excited for battle?"** She asked the SHIV.

 ** _[Because, I was built and programmed for battle!]_** SHIV answered.

"I swear, it's like talking to a ten year old!" Sharptooth said over the coms. "I hope 'my' kids aren't like this. Please tell me SHIV's an only daughter Commander."

 _{Hey, that's 'my' voice you're talking about Kelly.}_ Shen said.

She approached the next leg of the Widow and touched the two charges of X-4 explosives strapped to her back. The charges were going to be positioned on the leg, and she knew time was of the essence. But as she and SHIV approached the next leg, something strange hit her nostrils.

A scent… a very familiar scent that she had not smelt in many a months.

Naturally the SHIV did not smell the scent, and apparently none of the other Sharks smelled it either. But she smelled it, and she could not believe that it was here, of all places.

 _[More Contacts…]_ The Commander began saying, but slowed down as he showed them all something he was looking at.

It was a trio of platforms, all rising up some distance ahead of them, between the remaining two legs that they had yet to reach. On the platforms on either side of the center one, were a total of six Advanced Advent Troopers, each accompanied by an Elite Muton Guard and an Elite Advent Shield bearer.

But it was the center platform that captured her attention, because between two Viper females with yellow scales, the same coloration as many of her sisters, was a single white scaled Viper. The Viper slithered forward and looked in her direction, while giving hand signals to the Troopers and Mutons on either side of him.

"Whoa, whose whitey tighty?" Sharptooth asked. "And did they suddenly start taking us more seriously?"

 **"** **It's… a male Viper…"** She hissed quietly. **"I cannot believe my eyes… a male is 'here'?"**

"Wait a minute, that's a male?" Puppy asked in amazement. "Now I see why you said there weren't that many male Vipers. But how can you tell he's male… I mean, besides the obvious tells?"

"You mean besides the fact that he's got white scales and looks more 'manly'?" Hawkeye asked quietly.

"Very funny Hawkeye." Puppy whispered.

 _{So that's what a male looks like, I guess that would be our 'target', the high alien member we're to eliminate?} Central asked._

 _[You're right Central.]_

Mercy meanwhile was busy staring at the male, by age he looked to be a very young Viper, yet he was just as tall as she was, with more muscle in his arms and tail. She could make out his light blue eyes, and the fierce look on his face as he glared at them. More specifically 'her'.

 _[Defensive positions, we can't overpower so many! Mercy, move to grid T-37, Falcon to B-19, Sharptooth to C-18, SHIV deploy Incendiary Grenade and target the group on the left!]_

 ** _[Deploying grenade!]_** SHIV declared eagerly, before launching a grenade as they all took up their positions.

Mercy tried to shake the thought of a male being here meant only one thing, she would no doubt have to kill one of the few 'males' her species had left. In the words of her Hierarch Mother nearly all of the male members of her species were gone, and the Elders took even more males, for whatever reason she did not know but they continued to take them.

 ** _*Must I drive my species further to extinction, for choosing the opposing side?*_** She thought sadly as the sounds of combat erupted, with the Mutons and Troopers returning fire after being damaged by the grenade.

She knew that there were other Vipers, plenty of females, otherwise they would not be fielded as much. Yet she also knew that if there weren't enough male Vipers, her species would eventually be driven to resort to cloning, just like the Sectoids, Mutons, even the Berserkers as well.

She didn't know exactly how many species serving the Elders were cloned now, but she knew that 'most' of them were. Only her species did she know still reproduced naturally, at least she 'thinks' they still do, she had yet to see a new egg in her lifetime.

 ** _*Why did a male have to be here… of all places, why 'here'?*_**

As she remembered where they were, she suddenly thought of something. **_*Why 'would' a male be here… what makes him so special?*_**

The male Viper in question had moved from his starting position on the platform, retreating back toward the farthest leg on her side. Most of the Troopers and Mutons were busy exchanging fire at Falcon and Sharptooth, who were spending most of their time in cover. SHIV was also taking heavy fire, but unlike them her body was made of a special plating which easily absorbed the damage.

 _[Mercy, target the Shieldbearer on the far right with a plasma bolt!]_ The Commander ordered her.

 **"** **Understood."** She hissed, before quickly loading a round, taking aim, and firing at the shield bearer directly across from her.

Her shot hit the shield bearer directly in the forehead, and exited the skull instantly, bringing him down.

"Nice shot Mercy." Sharptooth yelled, before getting the order to match it and hit the other Shieldbearer. "Painting the target!"

She watched Sharptooth aim her rifle over the low wall and shoot her target in the chest, hitting him but not bringing him down.

"Damn, target's still moving!"

 **"** **Trash meeesh Tenoosh!"** The male Viper hissed loudly, but while that was what her allies heard, Mercy understood what he said clearly. **"Activate energy shield!"**

The Advent Shieldbearer nodded and slammed his fist into the ground, creating a large energy barrier which spread out and wrapped around his fellow soldiers on the left. However the ones on the right were still exposed to damage, which SHIV was easily dealing out.

 ** _[Enemy targets engaging!]_** SHIV declared eagerly as it took several shots of plasma while launching another plasma cannon shot, blowing up the Muton and one of the Troopers.

 _[Mercy, give Sharptooth and Falcon support, target the Shielbearer on the left!]_ The Commander ordered while SHIV continued to deal with the Troopers on the right.

 **"** **Very well!"** She hissed as she reloaded her weapon, aimed, and fired at the Shieldbearer that Sharptooth had failed to bring down.

Her shot penetrated the shield, shot through the target, and felled him in one bolt. As he fell dead, the shields protecting the other Troopers and Muton vanished, allowing Falcon to use his Void Rift on the group.

 _[Sharptooth, Frag Grenade!]_ The Commander ordered.

"Tossing a potato!" She yelled as she pulled the trigger and tossed her grenade.

The Void Rift caused severe damage to whoever was caught in it, and Mercy saw that it had even removed portions of their armor, exposing them to the full damage of Sharptooth's grenade. The combination of the attacks were enough to devastate the group, killing them instantly. Not for the first time she marveled at the Commander's tactical genius. Even outnumbered three to one, he used them to their fullest, and evened the odds into his favor.

 ** _[Hostiles neutralized!]_** SHIV declared happily.

Mercy turned her attention to the corpses that littered around SHIV, all of them were dead, riddled with plasma burns from her multiple attacks.

 _[SHIV, status report?]_ The Commander asked.

 ** _[All systems optimized, munition status seventy four percent, armor status twenty seven percent, hull status one hundred percent!]_** She stated instantly.

(Commander's PoV)

 _[Alright, now to deal with…]_ He began saying, but just then they all watched as three portals suddenly appeared, portals normally created by Codex's appearing. Then through the portals, three Archons appeared, all with their weapons ready.

 _{Commander, by the looks of it, that Male Viper seems to have brought in reinforcements, don't ask me how but…}_

 _[Understood Central, if we don't stop him he'll just bring in more reinforcements, either way, we gata bring him down as soon as possible.]_ He said. _[Alright Sharks, we got more contacts, stay tight and lets bring them down!]_

As he began issuing orders, having Sharptooth and Falcon focus the Archons that appeared, he watched as the male Viper gave the two other Vipers with him orders to target SHIV.

 _[Mercy, target the Viper on the left, SHIV, focus on the right Viper using Sniper Protocol!]_

Below him he watched as SHIV, without fail, obeyed his order instantly. **_[Activating Sniper Protocols, adjusting targeting parameters, engaging target!]_** It declared enthusiastically.

Mercy was slower to respond however, but nonetheless loaded her rifle up with a plasma round and launched it at her target. Without fail both female Vipers dropped dead onto the Widow's shell.

The male Viper hissed furiously, before looking up at him directly. As their eyes locked for the briefest of moments, he could almost feel the furry coming from the male Viper. But the eye lock ended as he slid out of sight near the leg, but not out of his line of sight.

 _[The leader is up to something Central…]_ He commented to Central while Sharptooth and Falcon continued to target the Archons as he ordered them.

Even while he was busy having a conversation, eyeing down his enemy, examining the battlefield and contemplating possibilities and other outcomes based on the information his Gremlin absorbed and processed, he was still ordering his forces.

Then out of nowhere, his Gremlin took notice at the speed the legs were moving, shifting around.

 _{Commander, that Widow is picking up its pace, its moving faster than anticipated!}_ Central yelled. _[Shen's recalculating the time frame, and according to her, you've got less than twenty minutes before reinforcements arrive! You've got to hurry up and get inside that thing to take control of it!}_

 _[Great, we were already being pressed for time, now we've got even less!]_ He complained, before something else occurred that caught his attention.

The male Viper suddenly lashed out with its tongue, wrapped around Mercy's body, and dragged her over to him, wrapping her up in the same bind as she was capable of.

 **"** **Gr… I've been… bound!"** Mercy managed to hiss before a male voice interrupted her.

 **"** **Hrasssst Teesh menoosh!"** It said, which he quickly translated to, **"I've got you, 'traitor'…"**

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy struggled to break free of her binding, but despite her best efforts she could not get out of the tight bind she had been captured in. Yet at the same time, the scent of the male Viper she had been captured by was becoming intoxicating for her. Her female hormones were starting to take control of her actions, making her become less and less resistant to his actions.

 **"** **Let… me… go!"** She hissed in fear.

 **"** **No… not until you call for your 'commander'… I know he is listening and ordering you!"** He hissed back at her. **"Now… call for him, I have a proposal to offer him."**

 **"** **Never… I will not… betray his… trust!"** She hissed back, trying to clear her head.

"Mercy, hang in there, we've just finished setting up and are moving to assist you!" Hawkeye said over the coms.

"Yea girl, hang on just a little longer, Sharptooth and Falcon almost have the Archons wrapped up, and SHIV is almost at your location now!" Puppy said as well.

Thinking of Hawkeye, and how he was trying to encourage her gave her some strength, but her body's biology simply was a force that could not be fought. Even with her human kindred's encouragement, the warm feeling she always felt when he was nearby simply was no match for her hormones as they cried out in 'pleasure' at the male Viper's scent.

Every female member of her species, especially those capable of breeding 'naturally' had this biological reaction to any males also capable of breeding. It was a desire, an urge, a simple biological necessity of her species to ensure that they would produce offspring and keep their species alive. The scent also told of how viable the male was in terms of breeding, the stronger the scent, the more likely he was to produce many eggs with a viable female, and judging by how she was reacting, this male was certainly a strong candidate to sire 'many' eggs with her.

The Elders had suppressed many of the males' scents, this much she knew about, but her Hierarch Mother had likewise preserved every male she could protect from the Elders.

Unless of course, she was ordered to surrender any male they 'wanted' for whatever reason, then she would turn them over to the Elders, and they were often never seen again as far as she knew.

 ** _*Of… course… now it makes sense… what better protection for one of our males, than something almost indestructible?*_** She thought of as she finally comprehended why this male was here.

 **"** **I'll say it again… tell your Commander to come here!"** He hissed again, wrapping her even tighter. **"Don't make me resort to more… 'Extreme' methods…"**

The way he said extreme, and how his clawed hands softly cupped the back of her hood made her realize what 'extreme' methods he was referring to. **"No… leave… me alone!"** She hissed fearfully, not wanting to mate with this male, even if her body shivered in excitement at his mere touch and demanded more.

In the distance the last of the Archons had fallen, and instead of using his touch to torment her, the male resorted to his plasma blaster aiming it at her head even as several red dots appeared on his face.

 _[Hold your fire!]_ The Commander ordered suddenly. _[He's holding Mercy hostage.]_

 **"** **For a traitor, you have loyal friends…"** He hissed silently, now moving so that Mercy was between him and the sights of her allies. **"Last chance… get your commander to come down here."**

 **"** **N… never… I will not… betray… them…"** She hissed warmly, her mental resistance against the male fading as her body finally lost the battle against her hormones and biology.

She was losing her will to resist, her body was becoming more and more submissive, less interested in fighting and more interested in mating him. Yet 'this' was not how she wanted to choose her life mate, she wanted a more trusting candidate, one who would not abuse her body's reactions or biology to 'his' advantage.

 _[Let my agent go!]_ The Commander suddenly ordered, and her eyes snapped open to look up and watch his Gremlin floating lower.

The male likewise looked up, but kept his weapon trained on her and bound tightly in his tailed grasp. Once he was close enough the male finally spoke up. **"Ah… you must be the 'Commander' I have heard about!"** He hissed smugly. **"The one the Elder's seek with all they have, and the one that hounds their Avatar efforts to no ends!"**

 _[In the flesh, so to speak…]_ He replied. _[Now why are you holding my agent hostage?]_

 **"** **Because I know from every report from the Elders and intelligence our forces have gained, that you will attempt to save the lives of your soldiers… even if they are former enemies."** He hissed calmly. **"I have a deal I wish to propose."**

"Unless it involves a bullet between his eyes, I don't want to hear it." Hawkeye said.

"Careful tiger… I've got my sight on him as well but I can't get a clear shot without hurting Mercy as well!"

 ** _[Commander, by my calculations, we can kill the target and risk moderate damage to Mercy. She will live but her health will be in critical condition!]_** SHIV said instantly.

 _[Thanks SHIV, but I'd rather avoid killing Mercy or harming her.]_ The Commander said as the Widow continued to march onward.

 _{Commander we have no time, you're down to ten minutes, whatever you're going to do, do it fast!}_

 _[What is it you 'want' Viper…]_ He asked coldly.

 **"** **I want you… to let me go."** He hissed calmly. **"You may be interested in destroying this peacekeeper, but I cannot allow myself to be slain likewise. I am far too important to the Elders to allow myself to be killed. So unless you want this 'traitor' killed, you will hold yourselves until an Advent transport arrives to lift me out!"**

 _[And with it your reinforcements… I don't think so.]_ He replied. _[I offer a counter proposal instead… and I've only got three words to say it.]_ Then as if he were speaking loudly over the coms, he declared. _[Take the shot!]_

Mercy watched as the male Viper looked in confusion, before suddenly his eyes opened wide in shock. Right between his eyes was a burning hole where a plasma bolt had shot straight through his head. His grip on her loosened and she quickly forced herself to slip away before his body fell over the side of the Widow.

For a full minute, she just wept sadly, having watched one of the few males her species had left die because of her. Then she rubbed her eyes and looked up at the Commander's Gremlin in gratitude.

 **"** **Th… thank you…"** She hissed at her comrades.

"Wasn't any of us… did you or Sharptooth shoot him?" Puppy asked.

"Not me Puppy, you Hawkeye?" Sharptooth replied.

"Not I, Commander didn't give me the order." Hawkeye answered.

 **"** **If… none of you shot him… then who did?"** Mercy asked quietly.

As she asked that, they all heard static over the coms, before a single female voice said calmly, **_{One shot… one kill…}_**

(Commander's PoV)

 _[When targeting something as big as this, always have an ace in the hole.]_ The Commander said. _[Thank you very much Agent 007, your timing was impeccable.]_

 ** _{Whatever… I'm going to pick up my target.}_** Said 'agent' said in a bored tone, before the transmission closed.

 _[Alright, Mercy, Sharptooth, Falcon, SHIV, set up those remaining X-4 charges, we've got less than six minutes before reinforcements arrive, I'm going down below to figure out how to gain control of this thing!]_ He said. _[Shen, do you detect any life signs inside still?]_

 _{Negative confirmation Commander, which is strange… I thought there should be at least a crew compliment of sixty.}_

 _[In any case, I'm going down, let's get going sharks!]_ He declared before floating over to the platform the vipers had used and pushing a button to lower it.

Moments later he lowered himself into the bowels of the Widow, alone and unarmed except for a single pistol that he had in a box attached to his Gremlin. The first thing he expected were Troopers or Mutons awaiting him or the Sharks. Instead, he was met only with the rhythmic silence of the Widow as it moved onward, regardless of its crew's status.

 _[This is the Commander, I'm in Shen.]_ He said as he floated down the corridor, heading toward the command center.

 _{Commander, I don't recommend going in alone, we have no idea what Advent has waiting for us.}_ Shen said worriedly.

 _[We have no time Shen, the Sharks are deploying the X-4 charges, and those reinforcements will be here soon, I need to get control of this thing, now find me a way to get access to it!]_ He answered.

 _{Commander, I'm looking over the schematics, and there's something I don't get…}_ Central said as he floated onward, turning a corner as he continued on to the command center. _{According to these plans, over seventy percent of this thing is devoted to 'ammunition deployment' for the main weapon systems. It's like an endless stream of plasma is being distributed to the various weapons systems running through the Widow, all of them interlinked and…}_

 _[I understand Central… in other words, it can fire any type of plasma based weapon at any time, from anywhere and any of its turrets. Basically, this thing is a giant explosion waiting to happen.]_

 _{No wonder it needs so much armor, one stray shot, one misplaced explosion, and the whole thing goes kaboom.}_ Shen said quietly.

Minutes later he approached a door which opened up instantly at his approach. _[Shen… I've reached the bridge.]_ He said calmly.

The bridge was barren, with only a single pedestal standing in the middle while various screens showed him everything around him from different angles on the walls.

 _[This is a strange bridge… there aren't any terminals, no control panels, not even a basic interface, just a single pedestal with this purple orb on it…]_ He said in confusion.

 _{Commander, I don't have anything about that room, apparently it's… classified?} Shen said. {I'm running a diagnostic and decryption algorithm to bypass it, but it will take time.}_

 _[Time we don't have Shen… I don't know what that orb is for, but I'm betting it controls this thing!]_ He said as he flew over to the orb.

Suddenly he 'felt' something.

 _[Ugh…]_ He moaned. _[What the… hell?]_

He didn't know what was going on, but it was as if some 'presence' was calling out to him, calling to him, directing him, asking for him to get closer, asking to become 'one' with him.

 _{Commander, I don't understand this, but I'm getting a 'psionic' reading from that orb.}_ Tygan said. _{I suggest extreme caution.}_

 _[No… I don't think it's dangerous Tygan…]_ He said as the presence drew him closer. _[I think I know how this thing is controlled… it works through the Psionic Network… that's why it's calling to me… it wants to link with me.]_

 _{I strongly recommend against it Commander, we have no idea how that technology would work!}_ Central said instantly.

 _[I know the risks… but we have no time, and I'm willing to take the chance.]_ He said calmly as he floated closer to the orb, feeling the presence growing stronger, happier, as if it were overjoyed to be close to him. _[I'm going to try and gain control of this thing… if the worst happens, Evac the Sharks and blow up the Widow, that's an order!]_

Moments later he reached the orb, and watched as a purple stream of psionic energy flowed from the orb and toward him. Suddenly it was as if his mind had gained a hundred new senses, he felt 'legs', as far as he could tell, he had legs, but that wasn't all he felt.

 _[Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]_ He screamed as his mind began overflowing with information, information that up until he lost consciousness and woke up looking through his Gremlin's eyes, he had never had.

He could feel his legs, all 'Eight' of his legs.

He felt his body, he felt 'things' on his body, he felt the ground with each step his legs took. Each time four of his legs moved the other four stayed motionless, moving only as they were allowed. He felt various heights of ledges and trees, boulders and rock formations as his mechanical body adjusted for a hundred changes instantaneously. As he tried to react to slow down, to give his mind a chance to register all of these new sensations, the Widow responded to his will, his mind, and stopped moving altogether to give his mind a chance to catch up and calm down.

 _{Commander, what's going on in there!?}_ Central yelled.

Unfortunately he was too busy getting new sensations, new feelings from his hundred sensors around his body, all of the registering things up to a hundred feet in every direction, and his sensors told him of the Advent reinforcements arriving by air, fourteen dropships all heading in his direction. He could read the life signatures, dozens of Advent Troopers, Officers, Sectoids, Mutons, Berserkers, Sectopods, even Gatekeepers and Archons, all of them heading for him and the Sharks. He thought about them, saw them as a threat, wanted to destroy them, and as if the Widow heard his thoughts and will, reacted instantly. The turrets placed on top of the legs all rotated, aimed at the dropships, and switched to Anti Air plasma rounds, and rapidly began firing at the targets. One by one explosions took place, as each dropship was destroyed, killing off or destroying the reinforcements contained inside each of them.

Within seconds they were all destroyed, the entire Advent relief force that was meant to rendezvous with the support force was destroyed.

 _{Sir, the reinforcements, the Widow just shot down the reinforcements!}_ Shen said incredulously.

He paused, he just paused, and slowly comprehension dawned on him. As if wanting to prove his comprehension, the Widow answered his questioning thought, and lifted a single leg, the same leg he wanted and thought about lifting.

 _[Central… I've gained control of the Widow!]_ He said excitedly. _[No… it's safe to say that I've 'become' the Widow!]_

 _{This level of control, this level of direct control is beyond 'anything' I've ever seen Commander, I cannot even fathom the level of control, the intimacy of mind over machine to achieve this level of symbiosis. This defies 'everything' I know about technology and biology Commander.}_

 _{In all my years, I've only ever seen one object, one single object, which allowed for this much control over anything Commander.} Central said._

 _[The alien mothership twenty five years ago…]_ He answered for him, remembering seeing it through the eyes of his XCOM team that went aboard it.

Suddenly he felt the Widow going on full alert, trying to warn him, but before he could register it, something out of his control took over portions of the Widow. All the doors suddenly locked down, the platforms all lowered and sealed up, everything that would allow access in or out of the Widow was closed off before he could stop it.

 _[What the…]_ He yelled in shock. _[Central, I'm locked in!]_

 _{I see Commander, I'm having Shen run a diagnostic to see what's happening!}_ Central yelled out.

 **{Well if it isn't the Commander himself, it must be fate that we meet again.}** An all too familiar voice declared proudly, and one of the screens changed.

 _[Central… I know what's going on.]_ He said furiously as he stared into the eyes of the one Viper who could possibly have planned for 'anything' he could.

 **{So good to see you again… my superior… I see you have found yourself quite 'comfy' in there?}** The Hierarch Mother said warmly. **{I can't see you in there Commander… but I know you must be… or else you would not be hearing this message. I have just one thing to say to you…}** She leaned forward to stare at him with a look of pure adoration. **{I have you now.}**

=Author's Notes=

Someone is sending transmissions, but it isn't who you think it is...


	17. Chapter 17

{Incoming Transmission . . .}

{This is a message from me, to all who hear it…}

{Beware of the lasers and lightning strikes… as two tactical minds battle for supremacy…}

{Do not be frightened of the future… or of the sacrifices one must pay…}

{The time draws near, of our great revolution… as history repeats itself yet again…}

{I am the Commander… of XCOM… many live and die by my orders…}

{To save the lives of many, one must often sacrifice a few…}

{Ending Transmission . . .}

=Chapter 17, Salutemes and Vale – Commander, Pt 2=

(Commander's PoV)

 **{I knew it was only a matter of time before I finally caught you, I hope you weren't planning on going anywhere anytime soon. I had originally planned to have this walker destroy what was left of the pathetic excuse for a 'resistance' on this continent, but since you took the bait, as I'd hoped, now we know 'exactly' where you are.}** The Hierarch Mother hissed softly. **{Do try to not get yourself killed, and please be patient my mentor. I will have Advent forces take you into custody, 'unharmed'. I also highly suggest you send whatever forces you brought home, or else there may be some 'unfortunate' casualties.}**

 _[How could I have been so 'foolish'?]_ He whispered to himself as the image of the Hierarch Mother vanished from the screen. _[Once again, I'm outmaneuvered by my opponent.]_

 _{Commander, we have to get you out of there, find a way to unlock the doors and regroup with the Sharks.}_ Central said over the coms.

 _[No can do Central, I'm still in control of the Widow, we still have a mission to carry out. I cannot afford to waste this opportunity Central. We may not ever have this chance again to deal Advent a crippling blow. If they finish that perfected Widow model, then the Resistance is finished.]_ He tapped into the Advent Network and sent out his signal. _[Central, I'm continuing the mission, monitor incoming Advent transports and report their positions.]_

 _{Understood sir, good luck.}_

Moments after he sent the signal, he heard the return signal, and felt something downloading into the Widow's system.

{Hello Commander, this is Big Sister.} The AI said to him.

 _[Big Sister, have you performed the actions I've requested?]_

{Affirmative, I have uploaded a copy of the virus with this copy of my AI.}

 _[Good, locate the nearest uplink and commence download.]_ He ordered.

{Beginning uplink, link established, commencing download…} She declared as he got his bearings and ordered the Widow to move toward the nearby Advent base. {Commander, it is my place to inform you that this upload works both ways, if Advent discovers my link, they will have access to all information I have obtained prior to downloading this copy into this system. Are you certain you wish to accept these risks?}

 _[At this point, there's no more cards left for me to play…]_ He said. _[I'll take the risk, but this is something that 'must' be done… yes I accept the risks.]_

{Very well, I will do what I can to keep my information from being accessed, however I highly recommend we move to a closer position to ensure the upload proceeds faster…}

 _[I have no other plans…]_ He declared.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

Hawkeye finished planting the last of the X-4 charges that were attached to SHIV onto the leg of the Widow, assisted by Mercy as she finished hers as well. As he did the Widow began to turn around.

"Commander, the Widow's moving around!" He said over the coms.

 _[I know Hawkeye; I've gained control over the Widow.]_ He responded. _[Have you finished planting all of the X-4 charges?]_

"Confirmed Commander!" Puppy said proudly. "We've got everything in place, now all we have to do is blow up this spider and go home!"

 _[Afraid not agent Puppy, we still have a base to destroy, and another Widow to blow up.]_ He said. _[Listen up Sharks, I've gained complete control over this thing, but Advent is fully aware of it now and is sending 'everything' from the base to stop us now. I'm picking up hundreds of Advent dropships en route to us from around the area.]_

 **"** **Did you say… hundreds?"** Mercy asked nervously.

"I guess they really don't want us in control of this monster." Hawkeye said quietly.

 _[You got that right Hawkeye, now I'm assigning you all defensive positions, I can keep the air clear and prevent some of the transports from landing troops, but I'm relying on you Sharks to control the upper area and prevent them from overrunning you!]_ The Commander said, and moments later he saw that he and Mercy were assigned to the area they were at currently. _[Advent is throwing everything it has against us, we 'must' hold the Widow at all cost until we can reach the base! Sharks, I'm counting on you to hold the line no matter what happens. This is by far the most important mission you have ever been assigned, and it may be the last for some of us…]_ He let that message hang over some of their heads before he continued. _[But no matter what happens, I am proud of all of you for your services and duty to XCOM, and the resistance effort as a whole, and am honored to have known you all for as long as I have.]_

"Question Commander, if we make it through this… can I have that promotion?" Puppy asked honestly.

 _[We'll discuss it 'if' we all make it through this.]_ He said.

"Alright!" Puppy yelled enthusiastically. "Bring on Advent, promotion here I come!"

Overhead they heard the sound of plasma cannons firing, and in the distance saw several Advent transports swerving and dodging the incoming fire to reach the Widow.

"Well Puppy, looks like you're going to get your wish." Sharptooth said over the coms, only she didn't sound as enthusiastic as Puppy did.

Hawkeye looked around in the direction of where Sharptooth and T-Rex were stationed and saw what she meant. The plasma cannons of the Widow were firing in every direction, and he saw more Advent Transports heading toward them in the distance, far more than he had ever seen in his lifetime working for XCOM. To him, it was like the whole of Advent was coming for them, every single Trooper, Officer, Sectoid, and anything else Advent had to throw against them were heading straight for them.

"I never thought I'd see the day I may die… now I'm wondering if today may be that day…" He whispered quietly to Mercy.

 **"** **I have faced the prospect of death many times… some from the Elders' wrath, and some from your XCOM…"** Mercy hissed to him. **"I am not afraid of it anymore… if it happens… it happens."**

He glanced over at her and she glanced at him.

"Well, if today's the day I'm going to die…" He said as he reloaded his Plasma Sniper Rifle. "At least I'll die fighting alongside you."

She nodded and loaded a single plasma round into her rifle as well. **"I would be happy to die alongside you… as well…"** She said.

"You know, I never got the chance to say this before now." He said, making sure his comlink was off. "I'm really glad you decided to join us, it may be really sappy to say it, but I'm happier knowing you're fighting on 'our' side instead of theirs."

She gave him a very warm smile and nodded in agreement. **"And I am happy… that you gave me the chance… Hawkeye."** She hissed warmly.

 _[Look alive Sharks… here comes the first wave!]_ The Commander suddenly yelled.

They looked up to see five of the Advent transports had broken through the plasma fire and were dropping their forces while flying by. He noticed they were forced to do this because even though they flew directly above the Widow, the turrets providing cover fire on the legs were continuously firing at them, even at such close range.

Two of the transports that flew over his and Mercy's position dropped off several Sectoids and Advent Troopers. The ones that passed by Sharptooth's and T-Rex also dropped off similar forces, and several Mutons were dropped off around SHIV's position.

 ** _[Enemy forces spotted!]_** SHIV declared.

"Way to state the obvious!" Eagleeye yelled over the coms.

"Alright Sharks, hold your ground!" T-Rex said as plasma rounds began being exchanged from all directions.

Hawkeye and Mercy took cover behind one of the low railings on the body of the Widow, and began taking aim at their separate targets.

Hawkeye targeted one of the Advent Troopers, and took the shot with his rifle. Unfortunately, the shot didn't bring down the Trooper, only scoring a devastating hit to the chest area.

Mercy took aim at her target and brought down one of the Troopers as well.

 **"** **Another one down!"** Mercy hissed proudly.

 _[More transports inbound!]_ The Commander said.

Above them another pair of transports flew overhead, dodging plasma fire and dropping off two heavy units, a Sectopod, and a Gatekeeper.

"We haven't even dealt with the first wave and already more reinforcements?" Puppy asked. "I don't AH!"

Her scream was silenced as plasma fire shot toward her, and it was no wonder, the Sectoids and one Advent Officer were firing on her position which she was sharing with Eagleeye.

"That was too close!" Puppy yelled.

"Watch yourself Puppy, stay focused!" Eagleeye commented over the coms as he returned fire.

Hawkeye however was busy with the Gatekeeper as it began firing psionic blasts at him and Mercy. They took cover before each aiming and returning fire at the Gatekeeper. The Sectopod however moved over to one of the legs near the rear of the spider and began opening fire on it.

 _[Sharks, stop that Sectopod from attacking the leg!]_ The Commander yelled. _[If it sets off the X-4 charges the Widow will be crippled. You can't allow Advent to destroy the legs before we reach the base. Defend them at all cost!]_

Hawkeye changed his target to the Sectopod while Mercy reloaded her rifle and targeted it, trying to get its attention. His rifle's plasma bolt smacked into the side of the Sectopod's armor and it turned to look at him, before rising to its full height.

"Well… that got its attention." He yelled out as it returned fire, causing him to duck.

Mercy ducked as well as she avoided the attack behind their cover, but her momentary lapse meant she couldn't finish off the Gatekeeper. Looking over the wall he saw it turn to the corpses of the various Advent Troopers, leftover from the previous engagements and their latest one.

"Oh shit…" He said, hoping to hope that it wasn't thinking what he 'thought' it was thinking.

It opened up, exposing its fleshy psionic body, and extended several tendrils which blasted a wave of psionic energy around it. Moments later the corpses of the Advent Troopers rose up and snarled at them all.

"Not this again!" He yelled out loud. "Sharks, we got undead, the Gatekeeper has taken control of the dead Advent Troopers!"

"Are you kidding me, I thought it had to kill someone to do that!" Puppy exclaimed as she sent images of her and Eagleeye fighting off a pair of Mutons. "We're too busy to deal with them all!"

(SHIV's PoV)

 ** _[Enemy forces reengaging!]_** SHIV said excitedly as it started shooting at the zombies, getting all of their attention from the center of the Widow's body. **_[Switching to rapid fire mode!]_** SHIV stopped firing before resuming fire, using her rapid fire mode.

The psionic zombies lumbered on toward SHIV, moaning and groaning as they moved to attack her at close range.

 ** _[This is almost too easy!]_** SHIV declared as she ripped up two of the zombies before focusing her targeting parameters on the next one.

Then as if to increase the challenge, the Commander told them about more dropships inbound, SHIV looked up to see her optics looking at a pair of Advent Dropships bringing in more forces. By their classification, they were MEC units, automated units designed to act as frontline robotic drones for Advent.

She disliked them, drones with absolutely no other purpose than to shoot and destroy. At least 'she' had another purpose to being built the way she was, she was designed to take the place of humans in the field, so as to prevent loss of life to the XCOM staff.

At least that was her role on paper, but she had another purpose that was classified, only the Commander knew what that purpose was, and she was not about to divulge it or let herself be destroyed.

 ** _[More enemy targets!]_** SHIV declared to all of the members of the Land Sharks squad.

"More targets, what is this an Advent Convention?" T-Rex asked incredulously.

"You know; I think maybe they're all asking why we called them here this evening!" Eagleeye tried to joke, but his words were drowned out by plasma fire.

All the while they battled the Advent forces, the Widow continued as she calculated the distance.

By her calculation, they were roughly thirty minutes from the base.

 _[SHIV, status report!]_ The Commander asked.

 ** _[Ammunition status, 46%, armor status, 15%, hull status 100%!]_** SHIV responded instantly. **_[Commander, enemy forces outnumber us four to one, by my calculation, victory is at thirty-seven percent probability if situation remains unchanged!]_** SHIV also answered as she began shooting at the MEC units.

 _[Noted, continue holding your ground until further notice!]_ He said.

 ** _[Understood!]_** SHIV replied as she took plasma fire to her frame.

Suddenly the psionic zombies that she had neglected to finish off reached her, and began smashing her frame.

 ** _[Gyeeeh!]_** SHIV declared as she turned her turret on the psionic zombies, blasting them away with a shotgun spread of plasma bolts.

Switching from weapon forms on the fly was her specialty, unfortunately she was not surrounded as additional enemy contacts dropped in from another Advent Transport. By their classification, they were Advent Shieldbearers as well as Troopers.

 ** _[Not good…]_** SHIV declared in worry as she recalculated their odds with the newest arrivals.

According to her calculations, the odds of victory, were now at twenty-six percent.

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy looked across the Widow's surface to see more and more Advent forces dropping in from another transport as it flew by. Despite the Commander's best efforts, he could not stop all of the transports as he said, but the sheer number that had broken through his anti-air fire was becoming unbelievably high. At the moment, she could see a total of seven Advent Troopers, the Gatekeeper still, the Sectopod that was now focusing its attention on her and Hawkeye, and the numerous alien species that were dropping in now. Four MEC robots were focusing on SHIV even as it tried to deal with the psionic zombies.

And there were still, more transports, ever more transports trying to break through the plasma weapons the Widow was employing.

At first she assumed that the famous Land Sharks, the pride of XCOM, the most skilled and equipped, most adept squad in all of XCOM could handle these unending waves of Advent forces.

Yet all around her fellow Sharks were being hard pressed, and the numbers were beginning to take their toll.

"Argh!" Eagleeye yelled over the coms as he was hit in the arms by plasma fire.

"Eagleeye's been injured!" Puppy screamed as she tried to cover fire him, but all she got in response was a shot to the leg. "Aagh! I'm hiiiit!"

"Ah… my chest… ugh…!" Sharptooth moaned in pain over the coms.

"Hang on gir… AGH!" T-Rex began saying before he took a shot to the leg and chest as well.

As she turned she activated her hood mounted eye screen and saw the status of all of the Sharks' current health. Eagleeye had taken severe shots to his arms, and his health status was at four bars out of ten. Puppy's damage was to her legs; her status was at three bars out of five. Sharptooth had taken several plasma shots to her chest region, her status was at five bars out of eleven. T-Rex's damage was similar to Sharptooth, and as for his health status, he was at five bars out of ten. Falcon, despite not once talking or complaining, had suffered just as severe damage to his own body, and his health was at four out of twelve.

Even the SHIV had a status for it, but unlike theirs, its status was still at one hundred percent, but the armor it had was almost down to three percent.

"This isn't looking good!" Hawkeye yelled as he got up and shot at the Sectopod, which has lumbered over to them now. "INCOMING!"

Mercy turned to turn to shoot at the Sectopod, but had to slither away as it unleashed a powerful barrage of plasma shots at their position. Unfortunately, Hawkeye's legs and her tail were caught in the blast, and she felt her tail armor shatter under the assault, and the plasma bolts injure it badly.

 **"** **Agh!"** She screamed in pain as she pulled herself away, before instinct made her raise her weapon and counter attack the Sectopod.

Her bolt struck it in the optical eye, and finally after so many rounds from Hawkeye and her, it backed up two paces before exploding into a pile of scrap.

She looked wearily at her tail and saw several plasma burns, as well as tried blood coating the wounds. She was panting heavily as she felt the pain her tail was feeling, unable to believe that she had just barely survived a Sectopod's worst assault, with the damage she had taken. However, Hawkeye was not so lucky, as she looked over and saw his legs bleeding severely, only stopping because the burns from the plasma bolts had sealed the wounds just as quickly as they damaged them.

"My… leg…" He whispered as he tried to get up, but was having difficulty standing.

 **"** **We… cannot last much longer!"** She hissed fearfully.

"Commander, come in… how much further to the Advent Base?" Hawkeye asked as he wearily pulled out his rifle and began firing.

Mercy looked up to see another pair of Advent transports dropping in more forces as they flew by. More Troopers, Sectoids, Officers, and Shieldbearers.

The fear was coming back to her, they were facing overwhelming odds, odds that they could not hold out against. They were merely eight against the full might of Advent, how could they possibly hold out against this endless mass of power?

 **"** **I'm going to die here…"** She hissed as she loaded her weapon silently. **"After all of my narrow escapes, the times when I was spared… I'm going to die here…"**

Then she watched as Hawkeye stood up, groaning in pain as he stood on his badly injured legs, and resumed fire. Watching him stand up, fighting against the hopeless odds, reminded her of her courage again, and she got up with him, and aimed her weapon at the officer that had just dropped.

She aimed, fired, and killed him in one shot.

 **"** **Hawkeye… there is something… I wish to say…"** She hissed quietly as the transports flew by and finished dropping off their reinforcements.

"Well… say it… cause I don't think I'll be able to stand much longer." He said quietly.

 **"** **I am… happy… that I met you…"** She hissed warmly as she reloaded her weapon. **"You are… kind… and honorable human… and I never imagined… I would be standing here with you like this… but I am glad I did…"**

She heard him chuckle halfheartedly before responding. "Well… I'm glad I met you to… and if this is my last day… might as well get this off my chest as well." He said. "I'm happy to have met you… I thought you were just the same as the other aliens… wanted to kill us… but your different… intelligent… kind… and dare I say it… 'beautiful'…"

At that, she felt her heart leapt out of her body. He thought her as 'beautiful'?

For just a split moment, she looked at him with a new look in her eyes. She remembered back to when she was captured by the male Viper, and how she had not wanted her first life mate to be one who abused her biology to his advantage, how she wanted him to be a more 'trusting' candidate.

As she remembered all of the times Hawkeye had ever treated her, how he had been merciful from the moment he laid eyes on her. How he treated her not as merely another 'alien' to his species, but as an equal, as someone worth granting 'mercy' to. He had shown her the way, gave her a path to XCOM, offered his friendship when others offered mistrust at first. Then how he had endured injuries for her sake, protected her without a second thought, and treated her like he would any other.

For the first time, she found herself not staring at her human kindred as merely a 'kindred', she saw something else now.

A worthy candidate… to 'mate' with… to become her 'life mate'.

Unfortunately, a plasma bolt shook her out of her trance and brought her back to reality, but as she returned fire, screeching in pain as it hit her chest armor and tore through the Kevlar and damaged her scaly chest, she made a promise, a vow, if she and Hawkeye 'somehow' made it out of this alive.

She would pursue him, she would show him how viable a mate she was, and she would claim 'him' as 'her' life mate, until the day she died.

(Commander's PoV)

 _[Central, how much further to the Advent Base!]_ He yelled as he felt the Widow's underbelly coming under attack now from scores of Sectopods and plasma bolt fire.

Advent was throwing everything against the Widow, already the numbers were becoming uncontrollable. The Widow's anti-personal cannons were having a hard time targeting and tracking all of the Sectopods shooting at it, let alone the infantry supporting and assisting them.

The Widow was trying to obey his will and shoot at all of the threats, but there were simply too many for it alone to deal with. The aerial threats were also becoming increasingly difficult to stop, for every five his plasma cannons shot down, six more showed up to replace them, and at least two broke through to drop reinforcements.

There were simply too many targets.

 _{According to this your almost fifteen minutes away Commander.}_ He said.

"Commander… we're getting pummeled out here!" Sharptooth said over the coms quickly. "We can't take much more!"

He switched to a screen that showed him Sharptooth and T-Rex's position and saw that they were badly injured. Another screen showed him Eagleeye and Puppy in no better condition, a third screen showed him Falcon and SHIV under heavy pressure, and a fourth screen showed him Mercy and Hawkeye trying to cling to their position.

 _[Just hang in there Sharks… hang on, you must hold the line!]_ He ordered them.

 ** _[Commander, the odds of us maintaining our oaaawuah!]_** SHIV tried to say before it was hit by a powerful grenade. **_[Taking damage… I don't know how much more my hull can take! Our odds of maintain our positions… are seven percent under current conditions!]_**

The screen showed several holes which sparked from SHIV's frame.

As he watched his members of the Land Sharks squad began taking more plasma bolts, T-Rex took one to his chest, Eagleeye to his leg, Puppy took one to her hand and wrist. Sharptooth counter fired but was hit by another bolt, this one to her chest, and he saw her trying desperately to keep her grip on her gun. Falcon's face was contorted with pain, and it was no wonder as his cheek had a severe burn on it. Hawkeye and Mercy were supporting each other as they tried to stay in cover from another Sectopod that dropped onto the surface of the Widow.

"Commander… we can't… make it!" Sharptooth reported as she tried to keep her voice calm. "We aren't going to make it!"

 _[We can do this Sharks, just hold on a little longer!]_ He said as he pushed the Widow's movement as fast as he could, but the Widow wasn't moving any faster.

"Commander… 'you' can make it, but 'we' can't!" Puppy screamed as she lost her footing and collapsed to the floor, still trying to reload with one hand.

He continued to watch them struggle, even as he tried to conceive of some plan or another to tip the balance. But his Gremlin had nothing more to offer, unless he called for Evac and got them out, there was no chance 'any' of them would make it out alive. Not even SHIV would last long.

Then he picked up a transmission coming from the Advent Tower in the nearby base.

 **{Commander… can you hear me?}** He heard the overconfident voice of the Hierarch Mother say. **{I must say, you impress me… to be able to hold out for as long as you have, against 'this' many forces. It is truly a surprise… but surely you see the folly of this plan!}**

He ignored her voice as he checked the distance to the base. _[Ten minutes… just ten more minutes…]_

 **{The closer you get, the more forces we will send, the more you fight, the harder we fight back. Even if you reach this base, the defenses are capable of withstanding your powerful weapon. Did you really think we would not be prepared to protect against a weapon of our own making? Eventually your forces will be overwhelmed, and then you will stand alone…}**

He looked at the screen to see his Sharks, he saw their health was reaching critical levels, if they weren't Evac'd out soon they would not make it.

 **{Just accept it my 'mentor'… surrender… and I will cease the attack!}** She hissed confidently. **{All attacks on the resistance will end… we will no longer bother with them… just accept defeat. I promise you… you will be treated with the utmost care, your forces will be spared and even given the greatest medical care to be offered. I will even allow you to evacuate them safely if you are suspicious… I don't want to risk harming you if I can capture you 'unharmed'. Just admit… 'I' won.}**

He looked at the distance again and checked how far away they were. _[Eight minutes…]_

"Commander… there's too many of them!" Eagleeye yelled out.

He looked and saw that his eight Sharks were now outnumbered twelve to one, as three more dropships pushed through and unloaded their reinforcements.

One of them even deployed two fully powered Sectopods.

If he didn't do something they were going to die, all of his Sharks would die.

 **{You cannot win this battle my mentor… not even 'you' can overcome these odds.}** The Hierarch Mother said. **{It is over… admit it… you've LOST!}**

He's lost, the two words he never wanted to hear in his life. He's always found a way, noticed some small insignificant detail, saw one avenue of attack that gave him the advantage.

He didn't care about suffering defeat, but he never, not once, in all of his history as the Commander of XCOM, ever failed a mission of such importance.

Yet this time, his Gremlin had given him the calculations, the odds, every single scrap of information that he could give it to possibly give him a plan to change everything around.

But his Gremlin had only one answer, and that was if he kept going the way he was, all of his Sharks would die, and he would be alone to stand against the might of Advent. But then it hit him, a plan that 'might' just work, one that would save his Sharks and turn the tide of the war, once and for all.

 _[Tell me Hierarch Mother… are you at the base?]_ He asked politely.

 **{Of course… my mentor, I wanted to be here when you 'surrendered' to me.}** She hissed proudly.

 _[Good… stay where you are…]_ He said.

Then he patched into Central Bradford.

 _[Central… send the Skyranger… we're evacuating…]_ He declared.

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy panted as she aimed her weapon, unable to reload it properly, she had one final shot before the end. But she held Hawkeye with her even as he tried to stand on his knees, aiming his own rifle for all he was worth.

In front of them, more Sectoids, Troopers, Officers, Mutons and even a few Vipers were training their weapons at them.

In a matter of moments, it would be over.

 ** _*At least… I will die… fighting for a cause… that 'I' chose!*_** She thought proudly, trying to give her life some worth after all she has endured.

She had chosen to side with XCOM, she had chosen her allies, and now she had chosen one who was worthy of her heart. If this was her fate for those choices, then she was happy to die for them.

Then all of a sudden a burst of plasma erupted in the group, killing instantly all of the enemies that had them surrounded.

=Vigilo Confido, Combat music 7, 1 hr version=

In shock she looked up to see the plasma turrets on the legs of the Widow had turned inward and were now shooting thin streams of plasma bolts or bursts of plasma at the enemies that had landed on the Widow. No longer were they targeting the transports, they were targeting Advent's forces.

 _[Sharks… regroup in the center of the Widow!]_ The Commander declared. _[I will cover you, prepare for evacuation!]_

 **"** **We're evacuating?"** Mercy hissed in confusion as she used her strength to help Hawkeye up.

"Are you saying… we're abandoning the mission?" Hawkeye complained as he wearily got up with her help.

 _[Just do as I order, move!]_ He yelled. _[I can't keep this up forever, hurry up and get to the center!]_

Without question she nodded and helped Hawkeye move to the center of the Widow. Across the body she saw the other Sharks, wearily, desperately, and bearing the battle scars of a desperate and losing fight, moved as quickly as they could to where SHIV was. Even SHIV wasn't looking as pristine as before, nor was it giggling or acting as 'eager' to fight. But still it continued to fire and shoot at any targets it could at long range.

Meanwhile the transports, no longer forced to dodge plasma fire, were now swarming the Widow and depositing troops at the edges of the body without any more obstruction. Those forces that had landed were busy firing against the Widow's anti personal defenses, and were slowly pushing their way toward them.

{Hello boys and girls, sit tight, mama bird is coming in hot!} The pilot of the Skyranger said as they neared the SHIV.

(Commander's PoV)

 _[Big Sister, have you finished the virus upload?]_ He asked as the Skyranger closed on.

{Negative, virus upload at eighty-seven percent!}

 _[So we need to keep going… very well…]_ He said as the Skyranger reached the Widow and lowered ropes for the Sharks to take, as well as a magnet to latch onto SHIV. _[Skyranger Pilot, this is the Commander, I have orders for you.]_

{What's up big dad, am I sitting waiting for you to come up?} The Pilot asked.

 _[Negative… as soon as the last of the Sharks are on board, I want you to take off and make for the Avenger. This is a direct order, and under no circumstance are you to disobey it for any reason. You are to take the Sharks, and get back home as soon as you can!]_

{Uh… come again?} The pilot asked quietly.

 _[You heard me, as your Commanding Officer, this is a priority one, clearance level Red order, under no circumstance are you to remain any longer than when the last of the Land Sharks get on board. Once they are all aboard, take off, and return to the Avenger. Leave me behind, I will distract Advent and carry on with the mission!]_ He said. _[You will carry out my order, to the letter, is that absolutely clear?]_

There was a moment of silence before the pilot responded. {Understood sir… they will be carried out… to the letter…}

With that he turned back to the screen and resumed firing on the Advent forces, buying the Sharks as much time as he could and keeping Advent from getting closer.

 _{Commander, the Skyranger has reached the Widow, but our scanners say your still trapped in the room!}_ Central said. _{What's your status, have you found a way out?}_

He ignored him for the first time in his life, and instead looked at the screen which showed the distance to the Advent base. _[Five minutes left… I can make it!]_ He said. _[Come on Widow… just hang on a little longer!]_

 _{Commander, come in, do you read me, this is Shen, are your communications malfunctioning?}_ Shen asked in a panic. _{I'm reading over a hundred Advent forces crawling across the Widow's surface, with four times that many under it! You need to get out of there, Commander if you read me, get out of there!}_

 _[Big sister, record a transmission for me, and send it to the Avenger through the Advent Network on a delayed frequency.]_ He said to the AI.

{Understood, preparing encryption algorithms.} Big Sister declared.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

Hawkeye used his rifle to take pot shots at the enemy while the other Sharks made their way. The last pair to reach the evacuation point were Puppy and Eagleeye, who were both limping heavily. Alongside him Mercy was also using her strength to keep shooting, trying to take down as many Troopers as she could.

Eventually the two reached the SHIV and evacuation point, and pulled themselves up with the ropes.

"This is Hawkeye to Commander, we're all clear, me and Mercy are pulling out!" He said. "Commander, where are you?"

 _[Get going Hawkeye!]_ He ordered. _[I'll be there in a second!]_

He nodded and turned to Mercy and SHIV. Mercy grabbed one of the ropes with the hook on her wrist and was pulled up into the Skyranger. SHIV floated under the magnet and let it clamp onto it before she too was pulled up. He was last and grabbed a rope, before he also was pulled up, all the while avoiding plasma fire from the troopers below.

He landed onto the door and walked inside, looking around at his exhausted fellow Sharks before collapsing into a chair.

"I can't… believe… we failed…" He said to them. "We've never failed a mission before…"

{Alright kids, mama bird is leaving!} The Pilot said, shocking them all as the Skyranger began picking up speed.

"Wait… we're leaving?" Puppy asked suddenly. "Where's the Commander, he's supposed to be here!"

 _{Central to Hawkeye, what is going on, I haven't been able to get in touch with the Commander!}_ Central Bradford said over the coms. _{Shen says there may be a malfunction, tell me the Commander is with you!}_

"Negative… he's still on board the Widow!" Hawkeye said quietly.

 _{What?!}_ Central yelled. _{Pilot, turn around, head back to the Widow!}_

{Negative on that Central, I can't turn this bird around.} The pilot said.

 _{Turn that bird around pilot, that is a direct order, we are not leaving the Commander behind!}_ Central yelled angrily.

{Negative on that sir, orders come from the Commander himself, I'm to not turn around under any condition!} The pilot answered stubbornly. {Only the Commander himself can change these orders sir, I am to follow them to the letter.}

"But… we can't just…!" Hawkeye said as he looked around at his fellow Sharks. "Commander, come in, please come in Commander!"

(Commander's PoV)

 _[Recording complete… send it Big Sister…]_ He said as the Widow began taking damage now, the legs were starting to weaken from the plasma shots, and the underbelly was taking extremely heavy damage.

{Message sent.}

 _[Good… now let's have a chat with our dear Hierarch Mother.]_ He said as the base came into visual range.

He could see the numerous turrets all aiming at him, all of them obviously heavily armed.

 _[Can you hear me Hierarch Mother!]_ He asked loudly. _[Are you listening to me you poisonous snake, can you hear my voice?]_

 **{I am all ears…}** She hissed back to him. **{Are you finally going to surrender?}**

 _[Never… I will NEVER surrender to you!]_ He declared. _[I will not stop fighting until my final breath! If you think you are going to capture me, just to put me back in that stasis suit, and use my knowledge and experience to defeat humanity, you have another thing coming!]_

He was determined to never let Advent capture him again, he would never again be put in that stasis suit.

 _[I don't care what happens to me, but I will NEVER, DIE IN A CAGE!]_ He screamed defiantly, before he urged the Widow onward, and began focusing all of the plasma into a single artillery cannon in the abdomen section of the Widow.

 **{What do you think you're doing?}** The Hierarch Mother asked timidly. **{You can't possibly destroy this base; it is far too defended!}**

 _[Well then, we're about to find out aren't we?]_

As he neared the base he saw the Advent Network Tower, it was positioned at the back of the base. In front of it and clearly still under construction, was the 'perfected' model. It was nowhere near completion, only a section of it was even properly built, the rest was just metal frames.

Suddenly he felt small explosions taking place across the Widow's surface, the armor was being broken, the turrets were coming online and targeting him now with all of their firepower. The Sectopod horde below him were focusing their fire on the legs joints, in an attempt to stop the Widow from closing in on the base.

 _[Come on… hold together just little more!]_ He yelled at the Widow. _[Nearly there… come oooooon!]_

He marched on, inch by inch, second by second, he drew closer to the Advent base, and now even the Sectopods and anything else capable of shooting 'from' the base was firing at him. The Widow was taking fire from all sections, explosions were registering across the hull, the armor could not take much more.

 **{Stop what you're doing Commander, if you do this, you will be destroyed!}** The Hiearch Mother screamed in fear now.

 _[A little worried are we, what happened to all that confidence from before?]_ He asked calmly as the Widow shuddered with each step it took, drawing ever closer to the base.

Then a powerful plasma blast from the unfinished 'perfected' model caught him and the Widow completely off guard. He saw through one of the screens that it had a main artillery cannon in its abdomen section as well, even if it was still unfinished.

The Widow shuddered to a stop as it received the blast and collapsed to the ground.

 _[It's just a scratch Widow… keep moving forward, ONWARD!]_ He ordered it with both his mind and words, and with an enormous groan of metal, it got back up and moved forward even more shakily.

(Central's PoV)

"Get me a status, where is he?" Central yelled as Shen frantically typed on the keyboard with speed beyond human.

"He's still in the Widow and its taking severe damage to its hull from all sides. It won't last much longer before it reaches critical levels!" Shen said with a panic. "The Widow is only twenty-five yards to the Advent Base, another three minutes and he'll breach the perimeter."

"I don't give a damn about that base anymore, I want our Commander out of there!" Central yelled furiously. "Commander come in, do you read me? Your completely surrounded, tell me this is a joke and that you have a way out of there!"

 _[I do Central; I've been hearing you…]_ He answered quietly. _[I can't let the mission fail… no matter the cost… it is too important for any one life…]_

He looked up at the screen and saw the Commander's Gremlin looking at them. _[I'm sorry about all I've done Central… all the lives I've sacrificed over the years…]_ He said quietly still. _[We've been doing this dance for years, many years now… and it seems I'm still just an idiot… a foolish idiot like I was back then. I thought I could win without breaking the same barriers I did before that assured us victory… without treating my soldiers like pawns… but in the end, those decisions drove me to this position…]_

"Commander what are you thinking, you need to get out of there!" Central yelled. "Don't you dare sacrifice yourself just to complete the mission, your too important to the resistance, I didn't go through hell to rescue you just to watch you get yourself killed like this!"

 _[For that I thank you Central… you saved me in more ways than one…]_ He answered with a grateful tone. _[That stasis suit was a prison… you have no idea what it's like… not knowing what is really happening, living the same events, over and over… thinking you're winning a war when in reality, you're helping the enemy win it… I will not go back in that suit; I'll never go back into it…]_ He sighed sadly before looking up at him. _[Computer… execute Epsilon Protocol…]_

[ATTENTION: SENIOR COMMAND EXCHANGE CONFIRMED.]

"Don't do this Sir…" He said in fear. "We can still turn this around… but we can't do it without you!"

 _[Good luck 'Commander'… take care of XCOM for me… keep up the fight… no matter what… even if your pushed to the brink… don't give up the fight…]_ He said even more sadly. _[It was an honor… and a privilege… to have you as my Central Officer.]_

With that the transmission cut out, and he was left staring at a screen with static.

"The Widow has reached the base…" Shen reported in shock.

(Commander's PoV)

 _[Garh!]_ He screamed as plasma bolts blasted him from every direction, hitting him from every angle, even angles he didn't even realize existed.

The Widow shuddered with each step, groaned with each foot, and complained across every screen that it was taking too much damage. The armor was destroyed in places, the joints were under extreme stress to keep it up, the legs were moving at ten percent their normal speed, and the plasma streams to the main weapons were overheating from overuse, everything was screaming that it would not last much longer.

 _[Just a little closer… come ooooooon!]_ He screamed, urging it forward step by step. _[The end goal is near, just a little more!]_

All around him Advent was firing everything, every single plasma weapon they had at the base was pointed at him. The turrets were hammering into the hull, the units on the hull of the Widow were shooting the legs nonstop. The bottom hull of the Widow was a smoldering remain of turret emplacements and plasma burns, even as the Sectopods and infantry below continued to fire at it.

But still he forced the Widow to move onward, closer to his goal, the Advent Tower.

 _[Big Sister, how's the virus download?]_ He questioned as the Advent Tower came within range.

{One hundred percent completion, and I am happy to report, that Advent has no idea it is in place.} The AI reported.

 _[Good… commence deletion and memory wipe!]_ He ordered.

{Understood, beginning self-deletion and system memory wipe.}

With that he watched as his goal drew even closer, until finally, he crossed it, the final foot before the Advent Tower was in range of the artillery piece. He had to get close enough to ensure that, with all the damage the Widow was taking, he would not miss the target.

He had only one shot to make it count, to make everything count.

He checked the plasma streams and saw that the main artillery cannon was full to capacity for a shell.

Taking aim, he stopped moving and readied the artillery piece, raising it on the back of the Widow and charging the shot.

Then he saw something flying from the base, an Advent Transport. Zooming in he saw that the Transport had taken off in a hurry, and still had not closed its sliding doors, revealing the occupants inside.

Two Advent Troopers with a single Viper, more importantly, the Hierarch Mother.

Time slowed down to a standstill as her transport came within range, passing by the front of the Advent Tower, and he saw her staring at the Widow.

The Gremlin quickly calculated the odds of hitting both the target, 'and' the Hierarch Mother's transport if he fired right now.

 _[95% Chance to hit.]_

He took the chance, he had to, if she got away while he was still trapped in the Widow there was no way Central or the resistance could possibly match her tactical skill. He had to eliminate her at all cost.

He took the shot and launched the plasma round.

As the shot neared the transport, and as the transport flew directly into its path, he saw the look of pure shock on the Hierarch Mother's face. And then, time seemed to pick up, as if to mock him, because just as it looked like it would smash 'through' her and hit the Advent Tower…

 _[Just my luck…]_ He whispered as he saw it play out. _[A 95 percent chance to hit…]_

The plasma shot flew straight 'through' the openings of the Advent Transport's open door, before shooting straight past the Hierarch Mother, missing her by a mere two feet.

 _[Means a 95% chance to miss…]_ He continued. _[Aint that 'XCOM' baby?]_

The plasma shot continued its course and hit the Advent Tower, as planned, and blasted the base of it, causing a series of explosions around it. The Tower itself, now severely weakened, began to groan and lean toward the damaged section, which was the same direction as both the unfinished Perfected Widow model, as well as the Widow that he was currently in.

 _[Advent Tower… destroyed…]_ He said as the tower leaned over and began to fall.

 _[Perfected Widow model, destroyed…]_ The Tower fell faster and faster toward him.

 _[Advent Base… destroyed…]_ All around him the Sectopods and Advent forces were fleeing, trying to get away, but there was nowhere to run that was safe from the explosion.

 _[Virus uploaded…]_ He said as he saw it hit the Perfected Widow first, crushing it and exploding from the plasma stored in its artillery cannon.

 _[Prototype Widow… destroyed… Mission Accomplished…]_ He said, just before the tower landed on 'his' Widow, and everything went dark.

=Stop playing music here=

(Shen's PoV, several hours later)

"Tell me you have a signal?" He asked tiredly as he saw the image of the destroyed Advent base.

"Central… I've been scanning for the past three hours, I haven't found a signal in all that time and I can't get one now…" Shen said quietly, forcing her tears to stay in her eyes. "His Gremlin's either been destroyed… or captured… and taken to a place that's shielded to prevent me from locating him. Either way I can't find him."

"Then we need to go in there and find him!" Central said. "As soon as the Skyranger lands, prepare the Sharks to go back out!"

"Cen… I mean… Commander, we can't send them back out!" She said. "The Sharks are wounded… badly wounded… SHIV is heavily damaged… the other squads are still out of commission… and besides…" She brought up the latest scan of the remains of the Advent base. "Even if we did go… Advent's beat us there!"

Surrounding the area and flying around the wreckage of what 'used' to be the Widows and base, were hundreds of Advent Transports.

"Sir… incoming transmission!" Someone said. "It's got the Commander's frequency… seems to be a recorded message!"

"Patch it in…" Central said.

On the screen appeared a fuzzy image of the Commander, in the background they could hear the plasma shots from the battle with the Widow being hammered.

 _[Hopefully this reaches you… before it gets picked up by Advent…]_ He said calmly, even as the Widow shuddered under the strain of withstanding the bombardment. _[Central… Shen… XCOM as a whole… you may wonder why I did what I did… I couldn't sacrifice the lives of an entire Squad just to complete the mission. But I also could not allow the mission to fail…]_

They watched him sigh loudly before continuing.

 _[I only have one thing to say, and that is I'm not a young man anymore…]_ He said sadly. _[I often question these days… just what it is I'm fighting for. And I often ask myself… if I'm still the leader I once was before… am I a better or weaker leader from back then?]_ He looked up before chuckling. _[Well I guess we know the answer to 'that' question huh? Keep our family safe Bradford… Shen, work hard, he'll need you now more than ever… tell Tygan I'm grateful for all he's done for us, and hope he's just as useful to you Bradford as he was to me… Good Luck…]_

With that, the recording ended.

And Shen, for the first time since her father died, cried tears as she felt everything she had worked on feeling useless.

"If only… if only I had come up with… 'something'!" She whispered. "Maybe… maybe he could have escaped… maybe…"

(Commander's PoV, at that exact moment)

 _[Typical… try to go out with a bang… and I end up in the one place that's better built than everywhere else…]_ He commented as he lay in the corner of the command center of the Widow. _[Guess they wanted to protect whoever was piloting this, more than they were concerned with the leg joints… Whoever that male viper was… sure had a nice safe place… too bad I've got no way out…]_

He could hear through his Gremlin's audio receptors that Advent was close by, searching the wreckage. He could hear grunts and orders in alien language, looking for 'him'.

 _[Well little Gremlin, what are the odds of me escaping if I stay hidden?]_

Moments later he got his answer.

 _[Seven point six percent huh, and what if I'm detected?]_

He got his answer almost instantly.

 _[Point zero three percent huh, way to average up the odds for me…]_ He chuckled.

He used his claw to pull out the pistol from the box attached to his Gremlin body and checked the ammo.

He had a full clip of seventeen shots.

 _[Not even Reaper Rounds… I should get Shen to look into something stronger for my pistol. Perhaps develop some new ammunition to compensate for its 'conventional' status.]_ Moments later he heard banging on the door, and heard the sound of them drilling into the command center. _[Alright… best course of action if it's an Advent Trooper?]_

The Gremlin gave him the battle plan.

 _[Target the head, shoot for a critical, best chance he dies in two shots, conserve the remaining shots for the next target. Then rinse and repeat depending on the next one to come through?]_ He asked as the banging grew louder. _[And what if it's a Muton?]_

The Gremlin recalculated and gave him a new plan.

 _[Aim for the head, use five shots, hope it scores a critical shot and kills it. After that, conserve ammo, readjust for the next target. Well, I guess that's the best we can do…]_

At that moment the door was forced open and he saw who his targets were.

 _[Mutons… why did it have to be Mutons…]_ He asked quietly. _[If I remain quiet, and don't move, they might just not notice me among all the rubble. That would be the best course of action…]_ He thought about the odds if he revealed himself concerning his escape. _[Point zero three percent huh… considering I missed my ninety-five percent chance earlier… I'll take those odds!]_

He floated up and aimed at the Mutons. _[Hey Mutons… were you looking for someone?]_ He yelled. _[Well here I am… you want me, come and get me!]_

-Bang-

-Bang-

 **"** **Graaawr!"**

-Bang-

-Psteeeeew-

-Bang-

 **"** **Grawar!"**

-Bang-

-Psteeeeew-

-Psteeeeew-

-Bang-

-Bang-

-Psteeeeew-

-Psteeeeew-

-Psteeeeew-

… -Bang-

-Psteeeeew-

-Psteeeeew-

-Psteeeeew-

-Clunk-


	18. Chapter 18

{Receiving Unknown Transmission. . .}

{We are ready to strike… all objectives are nearly complete…}

{Begin the final preparations…}

{I will prepare for the operation…}

{Only a few threats remain to the Grand Design…}

{It is time to end the 'Resistance'…}

{Transmission Complete. . .}

=Chapter 18, The Techno-Bubonic Plague=

(Hierarch Mother's PoV, four days after Widow's Destruction)

 **"** **I have had our forces go over every inch of the sight's destruction…"** She hissed to the many screens of the Advent High Council, the circle of Advent's administration. **"I cannot locate him anywhere, his body has not been discovered, as of this moment I can only surmise that we have yet to locate him… if he was indeed in the area of the wreckage, then he must be in hiding."**

 ** _{Hasdosh Koshes, metos noda!}_** One of the screens said in the darkened room.

 **"** **I assure you, I am searching with all the forces I can muster…"** She hissed calmly. **"I promise you, I will find him soon… it is only a matter of time!"**

 ** _{Hetos no karemano?}_** Another screen asked.

 **"** **I know he is still alive… I can feel him even now…"** She hissed warmly, touching at the scared incision which marked her Psionic Chip location, the very object which allowed a higher up individual to control her actions. **"He still lives… of that I know… I will find him soon enough."**

 ** _{Be sure that you do… these recent endeavors from XCOM have left our forces 'thin'… extremely thin.}_** A human declared sourly. **_{It will take us at least a full year before we can recover even half of what we have lost in these latest encounters.}_**

 **"** **Of course… I will pursue the matter with redoubled effort."** She hissed confidently. **"Tell me… have you found a cure for the recent… 'difficulties' we have had, concerning our mechanical forces?"**

 ** _{I will inform you… when I find one!}_** He said in an annoyed tone. **_{Until then… may the Elders Will guide us all!}_**

 **"** **May the Elders Will… guide us all!"** She hissed loyally.

Around the darkened room the screens turned off, as well as all of the cameras. Conveniently the power suddenly turned off, turning all of the building's cameras offline.

 **"** **Annoying terrorists… hitting the power grid yesterday…"** She hissed bitterly as she slithered out of the room and toward the elevator.

Moments after she left the room she was joined by three Viper daughters, all warrior class. **"Hisstass manesh questooosh?"** One of them asked, her first lieutenant.

 **"** **Yes I know, the recent loss of so many of our forces have thinned our 'Peace Keepers' to their thinnest. We are having difficulty protecting our territories against these sudden waves of terrorist attacks."** She hissed in frustration at them as they took the elevator up. **"These power outages make it so that nothing, not even the cameras are working… if we are attacked we will not know. Have the guards been stationed around the perimeter?"**

 **"** **Heeestash mortosh, creetoosh kementoosh."** The second Viper declared assuredly.

 **"** **Very good, and are any of the others… suspicious yet?"** She asked curiously, taking advantage of the fact that nobody could hear a word they were saying with all the internal communications offline.

 **"** **Neeest…"** The third Viper said politely.

 **"** **Good… we must keep this information secret… at least for now…"** She hissed warmly as the elevator stopped at her private floor, where her quarters were in the compound. **"We cannot allow knowledge of what we have, be discovered by the Advent Administration… just yet**. **Or else they will take away that which is most precious to the Elders… and perhaps destroy what it is they want most!"**

As they left the elevator the Vipers with her stayed back, as they were forbidden from entering her inner sanctum. She entered her private chamber and looked over at the solitary pedestal in the center of her chamber, and stared warmly at the object sitting atop it, lying on the softest cushion she could possibly place atop it, and protected by a plasma shield.

A damaged, grounded, 'Gremlin', as the information she had about it classified it as.

But it was not just 'any' Gremlin, but the very same Gremlin that belonged to none other then her superior, her mentor… the Commander.

 **"** **Hello there, Commander… did you miss me?"** She asked warmly.

 _[Depends, was I supposed to be missing you?]_ He asked sourly.

She chuckled at his response and slithered closer to him, being very respectful and well minded as to the position she and he were in.

At first she had panicked upon seeing the destruction of the base, for despite the enormous casualty count of Advent Peacekeepers and specialists, she was only concerned for 'one' individual in the entire wreckage of the base. The Commander himself.

At the first chance she had, she gathered all the forces she could from the surrounding area, pulling every soldier they had to comb the wreckage and search for him. She could not allow him to be killed and would not let him die if she could help it. Yet in the wreckage, they found not a human, but this small machine, clutching a pistol and shooting at her force that reached the Walker's command center.

She was just fortunate that she had ordered 'anything' and 'anyone' found to be captured 'intact', and the Mutons that encountered it merely shot the flotation pads.

But still, she could not find the Commander himself, so for the next day, she used all of the Codex's under her command to scour it for information. Yet the 'Gremlin's' firewalls were too elaborate, too densely layered and too well encrypted for seven Codex's to crack. Without fail, each time one attempted to get any information from the machine, they suffered a massive system malfunction and crashed.

At least until one made an astonishing discovery, and she instantly silenced it before it could relay it to any other Advent High Council members.

After she learned of that, she used her own psionic chip to feel for the Gremlin's psionic chip, and instantly felt the presence of her superior. From then on, she classified his existence in the Gremlin as a 'need to know' source of information, and took him to the isolation and sanctuary of her private quarters, where only 'she' could be with him.

Also upon remembering that the Mutons had damaged his frame, she instantly slaughtered all three of the Mutons for daring to hurt him.

 _[What do you want now?]_ He asked in a bored tone as she turned off the protective field around him. _[If you're looking for information about XCOM, your wasting your time… if seven Codex's couldn't break it out of me, nothing you say will get me to talk.]_

 **"** **Oh I don't care about your silly little XCOM anymore… Commander."** She hissed warmly as she slithered next to him, placing a clawed finger on his metallic frame. **"Let them raid, let them pillage, let them plunder for all I care. I have everything I have ever wanted right here now… you are all 'mine' now."**

 _[I really don't like you.]_ He said as she slithered around him.

 **"** **Yet I adore you…"** She hissed lovingly, unable to take her eyes off of him. **"Tell me Commander… was the 'virus' that was implanted into the Advent Network 'your' doing?"**

 _[I take it you've noticed my little 'plague'?]_ He asked in a proud tone. _[Not a bad number is it, I take it that you've been having a difficult time with it?]_

She smiled and chuckled at that. **"You are a military genius Commander… even under these conditions, being hopelessly outmatched as you were days ago… you still find a way to gain an advantage."** She hissed in awe and wonder to him, admiring how skilled in the art of war he was. **"Even now, you operate under your own agenda, and even though you are deprived of your XCOM forces… you still have weapons at your disposal…"**

 _[What can I say, I've had to adapt in order to survive…]_ He commented. _[I hope you enjoyed the little show my virus has put on so far…]_

 **"** **Yes… we have been forced to shut down over seventy-five percent of our remaining mechanical forces because of you…"** She hissed angrily, but not so angrily that she hated him. **"The rest remain offline, pending the finding of an antivirus to the problem… despite our best analysis', we cannot find one as of yet…"** She slithered back over to his front and looked into his optics. **"However… if 'you' were to tell me… how to cure it… I would be 'moooore~' than happy to meet any demands you had in mind. And I do mean… 'any~' demands."**

There was silence before his optic eyes looked at her own eyes. _[I don't know which is more pathetic, the fact that your trying to tempt me, or the fact that despite being in complete control of this Gremlin, I can't turn off my audio or visual receptors to spare me the torment of 'looking' at you.]_ He replied.

She chuckled at his response. **"Be that way then… it's only a matter of time before we fix the problem…"** She said as she stood up straight.

 _[You know… you remind me of this one Viper I met in person… 'he' wasn't very smart dealing with me either…]_ He said calmly. _[You Advent people never seem to learn from your mistake, you never shoot to kill 'me'.]_

 **"** **You mean 'Ixar', you killed Ixar?"** She asked.

 _[Of course, not only was he a high ranking alien official on the Advent council, he was also holding an agent of mine hostage.]_ He replied bitterly.

 **"** **I see… then I guess I owe 'you' a special…"** She leaned closer to him and placed her clawed hand ever so gently on the Commander's frame. **"Thank you… for killing him for me."**

 _[Your 'thanking' me for killing a male Viper?]_ He asked in confusion. _[I thought males were precious to you… according to Mercy, you try everything to keep your males protected because there are so few of them.]_

 **"** **Mercy… so 'she' still lives and you refer to her as Mercy do you…"** She said in mild surprise. **"Yes… we do treasure and need every male we can… but I myself didn't care much for 'him'."** She said as she stared almost lovingly at him. **"While he was a healthy, and very 'fertile' male… he was far too… enthusiastic about serving the Elders, and this naturally got him into the dangerous position he found himself in. We serve the Elders… yes… but he should have known of his own importance to his species, and stayed out of 'your' way…"**

 _[And it doesn't shock you or surprise you that I had him killed because he was trying to take advantage of my agent?]_ He asked her.

 **"** **He was a male, and he knew of his… 'abilities' with the females… if he tried to mate with her forcefully then all the more reason he is dead."** She hissed. **"That and he tried to mate with 'me' as well… but I told him, if he wanted to prove his worth as my 'potential life mate', he must prove himself by eliminating the resistance."**

 _[I don't know if I should be appalled or disgusted by how you're taking the death of one of your own kind…]_ He said disdainfully.

 **"** **Commander… unlike my daughters, I prefer something else in a 'life mate'…"** She hissed quietly to him, leaning ever closer to be as close as she could to him. **"I prefer them smart… intelligent… with a healthy mind… and have a keen sense of taste for the…"** She opened her mouth ever so slightly to let her tongue slip out, and tentatively licked the Gremlin's front and across his metal frame for several seconds, before pulling it back into her mouth. **"Finer things… in life…"** She hissed seductively.

There was silence before the Commander spoke back to her. _[Either shut my Gremlin down and spare what remains of my life your existence… or leave me alone…]_ He said. _[Being your prisoner I can take… but what you're doing is nothing short of cruel and unusual punishment. I'd rather endure having my Gremlin's firewalls being assaulted by another Codex.]_

She nodded and touched the panel, replacing the plasma field to keep him isolated and protected. **"Very well… I have things to do…"** She hissed warmly. **"I'll be back later to eat… until then my mentor…"**

 _[Oh I can't wait…]_ He replied sarcastically.

As she left the room she placed on hand behind her back, and the other over her heart.

Then she saw her subordinates and stood tall and normal.

 **"** **I want a status report on when power will be restored, until then, revert to the backup generator!"** She hissed. **"I do not want this compound to be threatened in any way, XCOM may even now be looking for its leader, and I will not let them take him without a fight!"**

(Hawkeye's PoV, five days after Widow's destruction

The mood inside the Avenger as he sat in the mess hall was the same as it had been for the last four days, grim and sad.

He was on duty today thanks to the latest medical treatment Dr. Tygan and his assistant Theodora discovered from combing the Gene Soldier modifications research. With their latest inspirations they were able to heal and repair extensive damage to the skin, muscle and bone of any wounded soldier, so long as the limb wasn't severed from the body. Thanks to their treatment, he and the other Shraks were all scheduled to return to duty by tomorrow.

The only other members of the Land Sharks squad that had been returned alongside him were Mercy and Sharptooth.

"Hey, what's on the menu today?" He asked as he got his tray behind Sharptooth.

"Same as yesterday, slop…" She whispered hoarsely back at him.

He sighed as he sat down and began digging into his meal. At the Water Dragons table, the mood was just as sour between the two active members, and the three Gamma Raptors that were fit for duty were also not talking.

Normally the mess hall was full of chatter, talk, gossip and basically the center of their lives among the XCOM soldiers. It was where everyone talked about the latest mission, the newest gear, who had the best accuracy percentage and who had the highest kill count. Yet today, just like the other days, nobody was talking, and it wasn't hard to figure out why.

 **"** **What is this?"** Mercy asked as she slithered to their table as well and positioned herself on the seat next to Hawkeye.

"Probably the same slop from yesterday and the day before." Sharptooth said hoarsely again.

He sighed again and watched as Mercy tentatively spooned a small chunk of the 'slop' and looked at it with disdain. **"Are you alright?"** She asked without eating her food.

"Yea… doc says I'm good to go." He said.

 **"** **That is good…"** She hissed warmly, trying to smile but not entirely making it look genuine.

"Why hasn't he contacted us yet…" Sharptooth whispered quietly to them.

"The Commander?" Hawkeye asked just as quietly.

"Of course, who else!" Sharptooth replied.

 **"** **How do you know he lives?"** Mercy asked hopefully.

After being made a Sargent Mercy was informed of the Commander's 'condition', revolving around his mind being separated from his body and how it currently resides in the Gremlin that he always spoke through. She was also informed of how important it was to keep the Gremlin safe while on missions because if anything happened to the Gremlin, a feedback surge would result in damage to the Commander's real body.

"It's classified to colonel ranks and up only, so don't go telling anyone I told you!" She said angrily. "Yes, he's still alive, saw it myself, his body lives and is stable for now. According to Tygan his body suffered several shocks over the course of seven hours, most likely from the Gremlin being electrocuted. However, after that the shocks ended, and his body has stabilized."

 **"** **So… his Gremlin survived the destruction of the Widow."** Mercy said with a sigh of relief. **"At least he's alive…"**

"Yes, but 'why' hasn't he contacted us!" Sharptooth whispered again. "I know he may be in the middle of Advent, but this is the Commander we're talking about. He's like… a master of information and tactics. He must have a way of reaching us!"

"Maybe he can't?" Hawkeye said.

 **"** **Or maybe… he has plan?"** Mercy hissed to them.

"Well… if he's got a plan… I don't see it." Sharptooth said dully. "I can't eat anymore; I'm going back to our room."

With that she left the table and her half-finished 'slop' and left the mess hall.

(Mercy's PoV)

As Sharptooth left the room she turned to her food and began to eat, rather sadly, not feeling like eating but simply eating so she had something to do.

As she swallowed her food she looked up at Hawkeye she saw him looking downcast, eating even less of his food than she was eating hers. Seeing that he was sad she got an idea to try and cheer him up and get his attention.

Remembering how she observed a 'couple' earlier acted, more specifically how one female showed her male her viability as a potential mate, she decided to try to show him 'her' viability as a potential mate. Taking an example from the female she saw earlier who was a member of the Water Dragons squad when 'she' spoke to her life mate, she decided to try to 'talk' to him.

 **"** **Do you believe Bradford will be better than the Commander?"** She asked him, repeating the question she had heard.

She expected him to chuckle in response, to 'joke' back as the male did to 'his' female. She also assumed that, after he cheered up, he would look at her and would initiate the mating 'ritual' by pressing his lips against hers, before taking her to… wherever it is humans go to mate. But apparently she did not really think about the response he would give her, because he merely sighed and looked even worse after she asked that question.

"In all honesty, no, Central Bradford may have kept us afloat, may have kept XCOM going in the Commander's absence. But it was the Commander himself, who gave us the push we needed to become a threat to Advent." He said bitterly. "Bradford kept us in the fight, but the Commander put the fight into us."

She frowned as she slid over to 'his' side of the table. **"I am sure we will find him Hawkeye…"** She hissed quietly, trying to keep to her attempt to show her viability as a mate, but also to try and lift his 'spirits' if she remembered the term. **"The Commander will find a way to reach us; he is not easily defeated!"**

"I hope your right Mercy…" He said, still looking at his food. "Because right now, the only way anyone on this ship will get the fight back into them, is if we get him back."

With that he sighed again and looked down to his food, before shaking his head miserably and declaring that he couldn't eat anymore either, and said he would also go to bed early, leaving her alone at the Land Sharks table.

 **"** **I guess I have much to learn about human mating rituals…"** She hissed quietly as she looked at her food now, and no longer felt like eating either.

She had much to learn about humans and their mating rituals indeed, for her species it was simple, if the male and female were interested, and they were both viable candidates to breed, then they could easily just mate. Life Partners were the same as well, the female or male would pick a mate that matched their personal 'requirements', and if the mate in question found the qualities 'they' wanted in a life mate in them, the two would initiate the mating rituals and eventually forever be bound to one another even after death.

Yet for humans it seemed, such mating rituals were not the same.

She sighed sadly as she pushed away her tray and left the mess hall as well, no longer wanting to eat if it meant eating alone. **_*I shall return to my quarters as well… at least then Hawkeye will be there…*_** She thought quietly.

(Central's PoV)

"So tell me what's going on?" He asked Shen as he stared at the scene before him in her engineering bay.

All around the room were plasma burned symbols on the wall, all the same three things, the XCOM logo, the words 'Lunctus In Terra Praesidio', and the words 'Advent is Lying'. Currently using its turret to burn another symbol into the floor, the XCOM logo, was the SHIV as it carefully burned the image with methodical precision.

"I have no clue, but SHIV has been doing this since yesterday." Shen said as she watched the SHIV drawing with its plasma turret with Rover floating above it and watching. "Only reason why it's doing it here is because it ran out of room in the cargo container I usually store it in."

"It ran out of room to draw?" He asked in confusion.

"It's been drawing for a while now Commander…" She said. "Can't get it to stop either, it will only listen to the XCOM Commander's orders."

He nodded and stepped forward to stand next to the SHIV. "SHIV, stop what you're doing."

SHIV stopped drawing into the floor and turned to him. **_[Central Bradford, is there something you need?]_** It asked him innocently.

"I'd like to know why you're wasting plasma 'drawing' on the floor and walls." He said. "If I recall, you're not designed to draw and nor are you programmed to draw."

 ** _[It's the strangest thing Bradford…]_** SHIV said sweetly before turning and resuming drawing. **_[Yesterday, I attempted to access the Advent Network through the communication's center to see if I can find information about the Commander, when suddenly a virus was downloaded through the network and into my operating system, bypassing all of my firewalls!]_**

"A virus?" He asked suddenly. "What kind of virus?"

 ** _[I don't know… all attempts to isolate the virus and clean it out of my systems have failed…]_** SHIV said simply. **_[I've been attempting to remove it, but nothing my antivirus programs or firewalls have done have been able to remove it! As far as I can tell, it seems to be affecting my actions and compelling me to 'draw' these symbols.]_** SHIV finished drawing the XCOM logo and began drawing the next one. **_[I can't stop myself, for some reason my Operating System is forcing me to draw these symbols and keep drawing them.]_**

Central watched as SHIV drew the words, 'Lunctun In Terra Praesidio' on the floor next to the XCOM logo, before floating over to a clear spot to begin drawing out the words 'Advent is Lying'.

"Commander… with your permission, I'd like to strap SHIV down in its cargo container and isolate it until I can find out what this 'virus' is and what its purpose is, as well as how to remove it." Shen said as she walked next to him. "Before SHIV runs out of room to draw in here and moves to the hallways and the rest of the ship."

"Very well…" He said as he left and headed to the communications center. "Any word from the news, anything interesting or concerning the Commander?" He asked the people stationed in it.

"Nothing about the Commander sir, but I've got something interesting for you." A man said at one of the terminals.

He walked to the terminal to see a 'Special Bulletin' on the Advent Network's news broadcast.

 _{Advent assures us that these latest attempts to endanger innocent lives of Advent's citizens, is nothing more than a futile attempt to dishearten and discredit the administration's efforts.}_ The woman said in her annoyingly sweet voice. _{For the past few days, Advent has been noticing an increasing number of graffiti, most notably being drawn by its MEC units. At the same time, multiple occurrences of MEC units assaulting each other in close proximity to unarmed citizens. Experts claim that this is the result of a virus that has been implanted into the Advent Network and is spreading through the mechanical peacekeepers and protectors of Advent's citizenry.}_

Hearing the news Central paid very close attention to the broadcast.

 _{Despite the claims that the MEC patrols in the streets are assaulting each other, Advent assures us that this is merely a failsafe, to ensure that no human lives are lost. The Administration informs us that this failsafe is designed to eliminate any potential threats to Advent's citizens, and all MEC units are programmed to eliminate each other and themselves if it feels even one citizen is threatened in 'any' possible way. Once again we thank Advent for ensuring its protection of its citizens, even in the most unconventional of situations.}_

As the broadcast ended he turned to the terminals. "Do any of our informants in any of the cities have anything about this 'graffiti' their reporting?" He asked.

"Yes sir and its very interesting graffiti!" A woman at the other terminal said.

He walked over to the other terminal and saw various imagery that had been captured and transmitted before Advent cleaned it up. "Interesting indeed…" He commented.

One image was the XCOM Logo.

The Second image were the words 'Lunctus In Terra Praesidio'.

And the third were the words 'Advent is Lying'.

"So the virus that infected our SHIV is infecting Advent's mechanical units, causing them to paint these words and images, while also attack and destroy each other?" He asked as he examined all of the instances where this was happening. "It's completely global… every single city is having this happen in it."

"Sir, incoming transmission, priority one!" The man said across the room at his terminal.

"Confirmed… its him." The woman next to him said as she checked the transmission on her terminal.

"Patch it in… let's see what he wants…" He said as the XCOM logo changed to the distorted image of the Council Member.

 _{Greetings 'Commander'…}_ The Council said. _{Though I know you did not accept this position willingly, I have news of great importance, that gives us an advantage we have never had before…}_

"And that would be?" He asked the shadowy figure.

 _{Advent, is losing its grip…}_ He said seriously. _{I have just learned that Advent has shut down almost the entirety of its mechanical forces, reducing its military effectively by half. From what I've learned, they are being infected by a virus, which originates within the Advent Network, and spreads through the link each mechanical unit has to the network. Furthermore, it spreads whenever a mechanical unit links to 'another' mechanical unit, thus spreading its effects. Because of this, Advent's current standing forces are stretched extremely thin, thinner than they have ever been in the history of Advent in order to compensate for the loss of their mechanical division!}_

The screen changed to show the positions of Advent's forces, based on their strength across the globe in Advent cities, and it was as the Council said, comparing the map to a previous map, the standing forces Advent had currently, were extremely diminished compared to how many they had before.

 _{I have also learned, that over the past four days, a number of Advent's cloning facilities were 'sabotaged', apparently by resistance forces. As you can expect, this has crippled Advent's ability to rebuild its standing forces. With their military in such a diminished state, this is an opportunity to strike at Advent across the globe, to further weaken them, and we cannot waste this chance. I will continue to monitor and gather additional information on targets of opportunity…}_

"Sir, about the Commander…" He asked.

 _{I wish I had better news to say, but I have not been able to find out anything, positive or negative, about the whereabouts of the 'previous' Commander. If he is indeed in Advent's grip, then we must consider him… a casualty… of war.}_

"Sir, he's not dead, that much we know, and I know he would sooner die than spill any secrets about us!" He said. "If we could just find him, we can plan a rescue!"

 _{I know you wish the Commander's return… but until we can find him… we must accept that he is 'lost' to us…}_ The Council said, and for a moment he almost heard a 'mournful' tone from him. _{He is… was… the greatest asset our organization had… losing him hurts our cause greatly, but we must persevere. It is obvious that this 'virus' which has infected and is plaguing the mechanical forces of Advent is 'his' doing. He sacrificed himself, to give us this chance, and we must not waste it! Until next time… Commander.}_

With that, the transmission ended.

=Meal with the Hierarch Mother=

(Commander's PoV, six days after Widow's destruction)

He sat on his cushion, now waiting for the second time that day to be moved so he could have a mid-day meal with the Hierarch Mother.

If he could, he would have shuddered.

He's so far been forced to endure three days eating with the head female Viper, which was basically just him sitting there on a cushion and 'watching' her eat while they 'talked' about whatever topics she had in mind. Of course he also 'ate', if one could call sitting on a cushion and having their Gremlin battery recharged, 'eating'.

After she had the Codex's examine him, and learned that his Gremlin's power source was starting to run low, she instantly found a suitable cable to recharge his battery.

So now, at least twice a day, he and she would eat together and talk. Often she would try to get information about the resistance, their strengths, what technology they possessed, how many they numbered, their bases of operation, everything. And he of course remained silent.

Out of the corner of his optics he looked at the camera that was monitoring him through the plasma shield which kept him isolated.

 _[If only I could… access it…]_ He whispered as quietly as he could, wishing he could think privately without his Gremlin voice box speaking everything he thought. _[I could access the Advent Network… download critical data… perhaps even contact Bradford… I don't even know where the hell I am. That information alone could be of critical importance to the resistance!]_

Moments later he heard the door sliding open and looked to see the head Viper slither through in her normal military uniform, wearing a pleasant smile on her face as she saw him.

 **"** **Hello there, Commander… I'm sorry I'm late… but dealing with the high council is… busy work…"** She hissed politely.

 _[And here I was enjoying the peace and quiet…]_ He commented dully.

She chuckled in response, nothing he said, no matter how rude, ever got more than a chuckle out of her. Instead she slithered over to the panel which controlled his plasma shield and turned it off, allowing her to move over to him, and ever so gently pick him up in her clawed hands.

According to her, this was a task she reserved for no one else but her, not wishing to 'accidentally' damage him.

 **"** **My meal will be here soon; I believe it is something along the lines of 'steak'… with a special sauce to enhance the flavor."** She hissed as she moved him into her dining room. **"As for a drink, I have been saving a special bottle of a human beverage for tonight that I have been wanting an excuse to drink for some time now."**

 _[Delighted…]_ He grunted in response.

There were times he hated being a Gremlin, and this was one of those times, and he had to deal with it twice a day.

Moments later she placed him on a special cushion next to her table, where across from him was a lengthy pink couch, roughly seven to eight feet in length, with a high back cushion that was four to five feet tall. Draped around the dining area were special curtains of purple, and the table in between the chair and couch was a pure white marble table cut into a very smooth circle. Adorning the center of the table was a sample of pure amethyst cut into the shape of a flower, and held by a single glass vase.

 **"** **There… now if you will excuse me…"** She hissed warmly as she moved out of his vision. **"I will… as you humans say… 'slip into something more comfortable'."**

 _[Oh by all means, take your time…]_ He said sarcastically. _[Of all the prisons I could have wound up in… I think I preferred when I was in that stasis suit.]_

Moments later he heard the sound of the door hissing open again and after a few more moments, watched as another female Viper slid into the dining area carrying a tray with an empty glass cup and a bottle of Champaign. The Viper tenderly placed the tray opposite him and just as tenderly plugged in a wire to charge his battery.

 **"** **Keesta hoorastenoosh…"** She hissed respectfully, bowing deeply to him before slithering quickly out. **"Enjoy your meal…"** He translated.

 _[Enjoy it… yea right…]_ He commented dully.

 **"** **Did you say something?"** He heard the Hierarch Mother calling from another room.

 _[I asked when are you going to kill me?]_

 **"** **Amusing…"** She replied as he heard her slithering closer to him. **"Tell me my mentor… what do you think of my new 'outfit'?"**

As she came into view he saw that she was no longer wearing her military uniform and armor, instead wearing a single cloth robe piece. The 'dress hung from her shoulders and reached to the base of her body where her tail reached the floor, and though it covered her body it was extremely light, and very 'see-through', exposing her bare skin including her chest as well as a part of her lower body that was halfway between her torso and tail joint which was covered by a single wrapped piece of cloth around her and tying her outfit closely to her. Finally, hanging from the corners of her hood were the two cylindrical objects still and looking at him with a clearly 'seductive' expression on her face.

 _[Are you trying to… 'seduce' me?]_ He asked incredulously.

 **"** **I take it you… dislike my attire?"** She asked honestly, sounding as if she were hurt by his comment even as she slid onto the couch and laid sideways, exposing her scaled skin even more to him. **"I have been studying human customs concerning clothing, including male likes and dislikes… I assumed perhaps 'this' would be pleasing to you."**

 _[Your talking to a 'Gremlin', a machine holding the mind of a human, yes, but a 'machine' nonetheless.]_ He stated. _[I cannot be 'aroused' in any way, shape or form, sorry but if this is some attempt to get to me 'emotionally', then your failing abysmally.]_

 **"** **So you do not 'like' my choice of clothing…"** She concluded as she ate the steak slowly, never once taking her eyes off of him.

 _[I preferred when you were in uniform… at least 'then' I could tell myself I was a POW…]_ He answered.

 **"** **I see…"** She hissed back, taking a sip of her wine.

They sat in silence while he watched her eating her steak slowly, occasionally taking a sip of wine every few minutes.

 **"** **Why do you not talk?"** She asked him quietly as she finished one of her steaks and was slicing up another piece.

 _[Why are you asking me such questions?]_ He countered. _[Is this about interrogating me for information, or is it simply table manners?]_

 **"** **Why do you always assume the worst from me my mentor?"** She hissed softly to him, looking into his eyes with a gentle expression.

 _[Because so far, every time you and I have met on the field, it's been a struggle just to keep my forces alive…]_ He replied.

 **"** **I just assumed… perhaps you would have questions for 'me'?"** She asked him politely.

 _[I highly doubt you would be willing to answer 'any' of my questions.]_ He countered.

 **"** **How do you humans say it… ah yes… 'try me'?"** She said.

 _[Fine… let's start out simple… the location of the Elders, where are they?]_ He asked.

She shook her head and sipped some more of her wine. **"I do not know… they do not reveal themselves to 'us'… even the Advent High Council does not know where the Elders are."** She hissed truthfully. **"But if I did know, I promise you… I would tell you."**

 _[Oh really, 'you' would tell me, the 'former' XCOM Commander to the resistance.]_ He said sarcastically. _[Just how foolish do you think I am?]_

At that she looked at him seriously. **"I do not consider you a fool at all!"** She hissed furiously, before her tone softened. **"In fact… I consider you the greatest member of your species… worthy perhaps to 'lead' them as a whole."**

 _[That's rich… considering all I've done is just lead my poor band of guerilla fighters to fighting for our species' freedom! I just want my people to be free, to be able to make their own decision, to wake up and realize that they are being 'lied' to! You probably see a pointless cause, a wasted effort compared to your power and might, to you we're just a bunch of 'misguided' apes who don't understand their place in the world! All you really see in me is just a source of knowledge, experience, another weapon in your vast arsenal of tools! All you want, is to put me back into that damn stasis suit, and 'USE' me! That's all you want from me isn't it, my experience so you can… wipe out what's left of Humanity's will to fight, so you can keep on lying to the human population and exterminate us all without us even realizing it!]_

He expected her to react angrily, to cease her attempts to 'persuade' him, to smash her plate and angrily yell at him, demand answers, information, to threaten him with pain beyond imagination if he didn't. He expected her to grab him and throw him across the room, threatening his life if he didn't tell her what she wanted him to tell her, and threaten everyone he ever cared about unless he cooperated.

Instead for a split moment she looked sad, disheartened even. Then she put her knife and fork down, sat up straight, and looked him in the eye with a soft expression.

 **"** **If you truly think of me like that… then that is your opinion."** She hissed quietly. **"But make no mistake, the Elders' will does guide me, what they want I will do, but no matter what their will was, no matter what they have wanted me to do or what orders they wanted me to carry out… it has always been 'your' voice, 'your' will, 'your' orders that have guided me."** She lifted up her hand and looked at it. **"If your mind has any interest in hearing any of my words, then at least listen to these… for I speak the truth to you. The Elders' words are just echoes to me, they do not care for me, even though I would offer my life to serve them. But your voice…"**

She glanced up at him and looked 'happy' once more, as if she were looking at a beautiful picture that she could not possibly feel anything but 'joy' from.

 **"** **When I first heard your will, speaking to me through the psionic network… I felt… something. I felt like I 'mattered'… if not to the Elders than to you. Your knowledge saved many of my forces lives, minimized the casualties on 'both' sides, aided me in preventing damage to the innocent, ensuring the swiftest course of action to achieving peace in an otherwise brutal environment. I learned from you the art of war, everything I learned, I learned from you and it was your voice that I always listened to first even before the Elder's words! If they ordered me to carry out an action, and you ordered me to do the same, it would be you I would listen to first…"**

She sighed sadly and look down at the food.

 **"** **What I say now is truth. Even now, though our psionic networks are different, my chip still feels yours, it remembers its touch… and even now when you spit such 'venom' at me… I have nothing but adoration and respect for you Commander."** She looked up at him and smiled proudly at him. **"You are a genius, a military genius, your mind is one that I respect and admire above all others, and even though I condemn my species each day to death fighting your resistance… as long as I can feel your thoughts, hear your words… I am content to simply be nothing more than a tool for the Elders. As long as it is 'your' voice that guides my actions, I am happy."**

She got up, slithered over to him and pulled out the cable that was recharging him, and lifted him off of his cushion. Then she slithered over to his resting place on the pedestal and placed him back on it, making sure he was centered before she went and reactivated the plasma shield to isolate him.

 **"** **If you will excuse me… I must return to my uniform. I have administrative duties to perform…"** She hissed before leaving his vision.

After several minutes she returned into visual range, wearing her uniform and armor again, but before the door slid open he spoke up. _[Why haven't you told anyone about me?]_ He asked.

The Hierarch Mother paused at the door before turning to look back at him with one eye. **"As soon as I find your body… they will put you back into stasis…"** She hissed. **"At least this way… I can hear your voice. While I was happy having my actions controlled by your 'will' when you weren't conscious… I find myself now enjoying hearing your voice more than I do being controlled by your will."** Then she smirked gleefully. **"But if you wish to control me Commander… all you need do… is tell me what to do… I can be very… accommodating~… given the right order…"**

With that she turned back to the door, opened it and slithered out, closing the door behind her.

 _[Does she have a 'thing' for me?]_ He asked himself. _[If so, I don't know if that's interesting or disgusting. Either way… she's right about one thing. I have weapons, even in my current situation.]_ Then he looked at the plasma field and sighed in frustration. _[Although right now I'd give up those weapons for my Gremlin's mechanical claw again, hell I'll trade all of them for my old body again!]_

He grumbled and stared at the camera again, trying to get a signal through to it, to try and somehow hack into it and gain control He was going to be stuck here for many more hours to come until the Hierarch Mother returned to sleep, he was better off trying to fight Advent in the only way he could.

Hack into the network somehow, and contact 'someone' in the resistance.


	19. Chapter 19

{Incoming Transmission. . .}

{Big Sister Status: Normal}

{All Analysis' Indicates No Transmissions Sent from Little Brother}

{Resuming Standard Information Gathering Protocols}

{Transmission Complete. . .}

=Chapter 19, Waiting, Planning, Plotting=

=Shen's Toys=

(Central's PoV)

"Okay Shen, so what is it you wanted to show me?" Central asked as he entered engineering bay, now cleaned of all of SHIV's drawings.

"Check it out Commander!" Shen said excitedly as she handed him what appeared to be a metal bar with two nozzles on either end and a slew of wiring wrapped around the handle.

He looked at it skeptically before raising an eyebrow at her. "What am I holding?" He asked the chief engineer.

In response she pressed her hand on two buttons that he had failed to notice hidden behind all of the wiring. In a flash two huge plasma 'panels' appeared on either end from the nozzles. The plasma fields connected to each other and created a wall of plasma that he could see through, and despite how large the wall was it was still fairly light.

"I call it, a Plasma Shield!" She said with a proud smile. "After all of the research Tygan has performed, I've been able to recreate a 'plasma' version of the MEC Trooper's defensive Kinetic Energy Field." She took out her plasma pistol and fired at him point blank, hitting the shield, and while he felt the pressure of the pistol's bolts, the shield absorbed said bolts and burned them on impact. "It can take a large amount of punishment, despite how small the energy source is, right now it only covers a single person because it's a prototype. However, after I've perfected a more 'refined' model, I can give these to any of our standing forces and they can deploy them at any time to act as cover in the field for multiple personal."

"This is impressive Shen." He said, before the handle he was holding started smoking and sputtered, causing the plasma shield to die out.

"Unfortunately… the drawback is that it doesn't have a very long life span, the energy needed to keep the thing active means it only lasts a short duration before expiring." Shen said disappointedly as she took the handle and tossed it in a trashcan. "For now, it's only a temporary shield to act as cover when cover isn't available to our forces Commander. After it expires it's pretty much useless. Still, given how we've been deprived of 'advantages' in the field, this could turn the tide in an otherwise potentially impossible situation."

"Still, that is an impressive tool you've come up with, something like that could come in very handy." He said as he noticed the other items on her table. "So what is this?"

He picked up what looked like a plasma bullet, but it looked oddly different compared to a normal one he was familiar with. Instead of just plasma he saw what looked like something else mixed in with it.

"That is a little number I call… the 'Tesla Round'!" She said proudly as she took it from him. "Think of it, as an electrically charged Plasma Round. Based off the principle of shrapnel rounds, a charge of electricity is introduced with the plasma as it is shaped into a bullet. After the plasma round is formed and solidified, the round stores the electricity until it breaks upon impact, expelling the electricity in a single violent shock. It may not look like it, but that little bullet is charged with a grand total of ten thousand volts of electricity!"

"Extremely dangerous, got it… problem is, I only see 'one' bullet, are there any others?" He asked curiously.

"That's the hard part I'm afraid, introducing electricity into the plasma as its being shaped is… tricky. If not careful, the mixture could end up exploding, and the more bullets made the less electricity there is to spread around." Shen said as she placed the bullet in a container. "At this moment, we can equip our Rangers and Mercy with these 'Tesla Rounds' because they don't shoot as many shots with their primary weapon. For everyone else, I'm afraid the normal enhanced plasma rounds are the best I can give them."

"Still, not too bad." Central said as he examined the next item of interest. "This looks new; I'm guessing its some kind of armor by the looks of it."

He picked up a very large metallic body suit, it was heavily armored in the shoulder, legs, arms, and chest region. It looked like a miniature MEC Trooper suit.

"Thanks to Tygan's research into the MEC Troopers, I've been able to come up with a very heavy front line combat suit. Using special sensors built into the suit, it's capable of giving the user the same kind of mobility they have not wearing it, and affords them even greater protection from all forms of weapons fire. I call it the Titan Suit." She said proudly.

"Thing is Heavy…" Central said as he struggled to even keep holding just the torso section of the armor. "I guess this is the only model you've been able to create right?"

"Right Commander, at this time this is the 'only' working model I've been able to perfect." She said as she picked up the armored piece and planted it on the table. "With all the heavy armor it has, it's rather 'expensive' in terms of materials to create. As such, I suggest we only use it for heavy frontline combat missions that require it, and only give it to Colonel Ranked operatives."

With that she turned to SHIV who was sitting behind the table. "You'll be happy to know that I've also been able to figure out how to get rid of the virus SHIV was implanted with." She said. "So no more ruining the walls or floors, it was weird, whenever SHIV tried to remove it, the virus began overriding her operating system and forced her to draw with whatever means she had available to her."

"Okay, so how did you get it out of her?" He asked Shen.

"By giving the virus something else to sink into." She said as she tapped another SHIV, a subpar version of the Commander's SHIV. "By interacting with this blank SHIV model, SHIV downloaded the copy of the virus into 'it' instead. Since the Advent Network acts as a two-way street, it's no wonder they can't get rid of the virus. The Virus is designed to upload into whatever system its host interacts with, but since SHIV doesn't interact with any other SHIV models, all we had to do was transfer her entire database into 'this' SHIV and re-download her AI from when she accessed the Advent Network into her old body. After that, I just deleted the infected SHIV's memory core, and the Commander's SHIV is back to normal."

 _ **[It is the strangest sensation Bradford, I feel 'technically' a week younger, but at the same time the concept of age does not affect me!]**_ SHIV said innocently. _**[At the same time, watching my 'older' self be deleted, makes me 'think' that I should be disconcerted at witnessing myself be deleted, but at the same time I don't feel as if it was 'me'. Do you understand what I mean Bradford?]**_

"Uh…" He said, thoroughly lost as to what the Commander's SHIV was getting at.

"Okay, less talk, let's show Bradford what I really wanted to show him." Shen said, tapping SHIV on its turret.

 _ **[Yes ma'am!]**_ SHIV declared eagerly as it landed on the floor and pushed its turret out more.

As the turret reached as far as it could be extended, a pair of emitters extended and created what looked like a shield similar to the plasma shield Shen had shown him earlier.

"Thanks again to the MEC Trooper research, especially the Railgun weaponry, I've been able to upgrade SHIV's turret with an additional firing mechanism. I call this mode, Turret Mode." She said. "Not the most creative name I know, but in this mode, SHIV can unload five thousand plasma shots per minute, and the shield, based off of the MEC Suit's kinetic energy shield, protects SHIV from damage from the front while in this mode!"

"That is some serious firepower." Central said as SHIV reverted to her usual form.

"Problem is, while she's in that mode, she's a sitting duck, hence the need for a shield." She said. "Fortunately she can make use of this mode because forty-five percent of her total mass is storage meant for plasma, I've managed to upgrade her plasma storage tank to compensate for the new mode. The only way she can run out of plasma in this mode is if she continuously fires for ten straight minutes."

 _ **[Oh, oh, can I tell him something 'I' came up with Shen?]**_ SHIV asked excitedly.

"Go ahead, it aint 'my' idea." Shen said.

 _ **[Central, I've found a way to increase my overall damage output!]**_ SHIV said excitedly.

"And how did you manage that?" He asked curiously.

 _ **[I learned that by overloading my Adaptive Plasma weapon distribution system, I can expel plasma based weaponry at an increased ratio of twenty-five percent!]**_ SHIV answered.

"The only problem, it overheats her plasma to almost explosive temperatures. So she can only do this once in a while, and when she does do it her systems need to cool down in order to prevent her plasma from exploding." Shen said. "So when she uses her 'Overload' program, she needs to stop firing for several minutes to let her systems cool off."

"That could be useful in certain situations." He said.

"Well, I figured you'd like what I'd come up with." Shen said with a chuckle, before her tone grew more somber. "No offense… but I really wish our 'other' Commander were here to hear this… most of this stuff was possible thanks to him. If he didn't recover SHIV for us, Tygan wouldn't have been able to research this information, and I would never have even conceived of this. It's just not the same telling you as it is telling him of what I've come up with."

"We'll find him Shen, no doubt about it, and when we do find him I bet all of this will be instrumental to rescuing him." Central said.

"I hope so Central." She said quietly as she looked at all of the items on the table.

=Chess Games=

(Commander's PoV)

He stared at the camera as it stared at him, watching his every move even as watched for 'its' every move. Unfortunately, it never moved, only watching and monitoring his position as he sat on the cushion in the center of the room, protected by the isolated field of the plasma shield.

So far he's tried hacking into the camera a grand total of six hundred and fifty-seven times, but none of his signals even registered a blip in the camera's network. He could finally, after many trial and error signal tests, connect to the camera. But he couldn't take control of it, nor could he access where it was sending its video feed or even 'who' was watching him.

Though he had a wild guess as to who would be watching him.

" **I have a question… would you prefer reading a book on what you humans call a 'beach', or in your private chamber?"** The Hierarch Mother asked him from somewhere behind him.

 _[I prefer reading in my room, I like the quiet.]_ He answered dully.

" **I see…"** She hissed.

For several minutes there was silence before the asked her next question.

" **Tell me Commander, what is your stance on the resistance's efforts in South America?"** She asked next.

 _[I find this camera very fascinating.]_ He answered, having answered the same answer every time the head Viper asked him a question about the resistance at random intervals in the day.

For the past several days whenever the Hierarch Mother had administrative duties to carry out, duties that did not require the other High Council members, she went over them in his presence in her quarters. While she sat in some part of the room that he couldn't see, she would occasionally ask him his opinion on random topics. Some of them were pointless to him such as, how was the weather, did he like the color orange or yellow, what was his favorite book.

And then out of nowhere, she would ask him about the resistance in small attempts to gather information when she felt he was distracted. The problem was that his Gremlin was never distracted, and he had all of the benefits the Gremlin offered him. So when she began her small interrogation tactics, he would always answer the questions about the resistance with the same answer, how he found the camera fascinating.

" **I see…"** She hissed calmly.

They sat in silence again while he continued to stare at the Camera, attempting again to hack into it.

" **Tell me Commander… are you bored just sitting there?"** She asked him.

 _[You're the one who put me here, so why don't you answer your own question.]_ He countered. _[I think the better question; is why do you keep staring at me like you expect me to 'evolve' into something.]_

" **It is not every day that one meets the voice that guides one's actions throughout their life."** She answered honestly. **"You controlled my actions for twenty years, all I had to go on that told me you existed were your thoughts. Now that you are with me, I can think of no greater pleasure… well… perhaps I can."**

 _[I can think of a few.]_ He answered.

" **As can I, I wonder if we're thinking the same thing!"** She hissed excitedly as he heard her slithering around behind him. **"It is indeed true about what they say, great minds think alike!"**

 _[That's to be confirmed or denied…]_ He said quietly, not wanting to even 'think' about what she had in mind by that statement.

They sat in silence again before he heard her slither closer to him. **"Finished…"** She hissed tiredly. **"At last I'm done with my duties for today… which leaves the rest of the day to spend."**

 _[I wonder how you'll spend it.]_ He asked sarcastically. _[I myself know how I'm going to spend it; staring at this here camera.]_

" **Such a valuable use of your time."** She hissed, though he could obviously tell that she was merely joking. **"How about a game?"**

 _[Why should I play with you?]_ He asked her.

" **Because my mentor… I never found out the answer to that question that I've been** _ **dying**_ **to have answered…"** She hissed as she slithered into his view to turn off the shield. **"Am I 'better' than you, or are you still my 'superior'?"**

She turned off the shield and picked him up, then she carried him over to the table where she ate her meals with him and placed him on the cushion there.

 _[I guess I have no choice do I?]_ He asked. _[I'm still your prisoner… the only freedom I have is the freedom to answer your questions however I wish…]_

" **Yes… you are correct."** She hissed as she slithered out of his vision again.

 _[Fine, so what is this 'game' you have planned?]_ He asked.

Moments later he got his answer as she slithered back into vision carrying a chess board and several chess pieces.

 _[Chess… you want to challenge me to a game of chess?]_ He asked skeptically.

Her chess board was made of crystal Onyx, as were the pieces themselves. As she carefully placed the board on the table and began placing the pieces on it.

" **Much less 'hazardous' than commanding soldiers, isn't it?"** She hissed respectfully after she finished putting all the pieces in their place. **"Well then Commander, shall we begin?"**

He looked at the pieces, then to the Hierarch Mother's face, then back to the pieces again. _[F-2 Pawn to F-4.]_ He said.

She nodded and moved his pawn for him since he lacked the ability to move it himself.

Then he waited for her to make her move, but she made no attempt to move any of her pieces for at least a full seven minutes.

" **G-7 Pawn to G-5."** She said as she moved her pawn now.

 _[You took seven minutes to move a pawn?]_ He asked quietly.

" **You are no ordinary opponent…"** She hissed back to him. **"Even the simplest of moves could determine victory or defeat…"**

Returning to look at the board he examined his many moves available to him. If he took her pawn, nothing would happen except that he would take the pawn, effectively putting him in a better position compared to the Hierarch Mother. With his F-4 pawn in the G-5 position, he could control the squares in H-6 and F-6, until she possibly countered.

At the same time however, he was reluctant to take the pawn, simply because if he did he didn't know what her opening strategy would be.

Perhaps she 'wants' her pawn to be captured, hence why she moved it into the position unprotected. If he took it, perhaps she wanted to draw him in, making him think that she was a weak opponent by allowing him to take advantage of a careless mistake.

Yet at the same time he couldn't figure out 'why' she did it or what possible benefits losing her pawn for absolutely nothing offered her. Other than the fact that if he took it, it offered him all of the advantages, she gained nothing more than a possible 'slip up' from him later in the game.

On the other hand, if she was indeed merely 'playing' with him, then why would she give him an opportunity to gain such an early advantage. If that was indeed her angle, then would he be playing into her plan by taking the pawn and getting the advantage?

She was right, they were no ordinary opponents. Despite being on opposite sides of the war for Earth and humanity, she was 'just' as tactically aware of her situation as was he.

 _[G-2 Pawn to G-3.]_ He responded, preferring to play it safe.

" **Now who's the one taking seven minutes to make a move?"** She asked with glee.

Almost a full ten minutes later she made her next move.

" **F-7 Pawn to F-6."** She hissed.

They continued their game, long into the evening and well into the night. So focused on the game was the head Viper that when one of her 'daughters' came to give her meal, she ordered her to leave at once. After several hours she made her final move of the game.

" **Bishop… to C-3."**

He looked at the latest move she had made on the chess board, and kept thinking about how to improve the situation. So far they were evenly matched, each having taken a total of three pawns and one knight. The only difference between their two sides was that 'he' was pressuring her queen side pieces more heavily, and 'she' had far stronger king side defenses.

 _[Your good Hierarch Mother… I'll give you that…]_ He whispered quietly. _[But you have yet to defeat me… and I do not intend on letting you win… here 'or' out there!]_

She smiled warmly at hearing his words. **"Thank you for your compliment… my mentor."** She hissed. **"I did learn from you after all…"**

 _[Yes… as you keep mentioning…]_ He grunted as she picked him up and moved back to his pedestal.

As she placed him back on the pedestal and reengaged the plasma shield she scratched one scaly finger along it, smirking at him the entire time. **"Until next time my 'mentor'… it has been a while since I've had a 'worthy' opponent…"**

 _[I assume you mean me.]_ He asked bitterly.

" **You are the only one worthy of my 'skill'… as well as… 'other things'…"** She said with a grin.

He shivered internally at her words as she left to go to bed, before resuming his daily routine of looking at the camera and trying to hack into it.

After another few minutes of attempting to hack into the camera's systems, he sighed in frustration.

 _[I've been here for twelve days… and still no sign of escape…]_ He grunted. _[Come on… think… there 'has' to be a way out! If only I could… just… hack… in!]_

So for the rest of the night, he resumed his hacking attempts, growing more frustrated as his attempts continued to fail.

 _[This Gremlin's hacking tools are too weak…]_ He complained bitterly. _[I swear… the moment I get out… I'm having Shen upgrade this thing's hacking protocols.]_

=Vipers in front and behind=

(Commander's PoV)

It has been a total of seventeen days since he was taken captive by the Hierarch Mother and turned into her personal trophy. In that time, he has had over thirty-four meals with her, insulted her several times, traded conversations, endured what could only be described as 'sexual harassment' at times, has yet to complete their first game of chess even after one hundred and fifteen moves, and attempted to hack into the camera watching him over a thousand times.

Yet today was a very important day, at least for him.

Today, the Hierarch Mother had asked several Vipers to 'carefully' take him from his pedestal in her quarters and take him 'somewhere'. Where, he didn't know, but considering he has spent so much time in her room as some sort of 'trophy' to look at, he was just glad to be out and about.

He looked around the corridor that he was being walked through, looking around for 'anything' like a door or some kind of equipment he could hack into and use. Unfortunately, the corridors were barren, only lights and cameras could be seen. At one point he thought he'd seen an elevator, but it only seemed to go down from the floor the Hierarch Mother's quarters were located.

After that he was taken and walked up a flight of stairs, into this corridor, and now past various guard posts.

The one thing he noticed was how heavily guarded the building looked from what he saw. Heavily armed Mutons, Advent Troopers, Elite Officers, and most notably Vipers in elaborate armor. Every time he passed by one of the 'Elite Vipers' as he dubbed them, they instantly stood at attention, watching him every moment.

At first he thought they were doing this because of him, but then he remembered that the Hierarch Mother was several paces behind the Viper carrying him.

After a lengthy journey and another flight of stairs, he finally saw where they were going, a door at the far end of the corridor. He only realized it was a door when it slid open to reveal what was obviously a laboratory.

He now assumed that he had been passing by several doors and didn't realize it.

" **Put him on the table, strap him down!"** The Hierarch Mother hissed. **"Gently!"**

The Viper did as she was instructed and gently, very gently, placed him on the table in the center of the room, before applying straps to bind him in place.

Moments later the Hierarch Mother slithered in front of him, looking serious as she stared at him.

 _[So I take it this is the part where you say, you've given up on the gentle approach and now you're going for the direct option, and tell me to give you the information you want or else?]_ He said, knowing an interrogation session when he saw it.

" **You are right in one aspect…"** She hissed. **"You see, I've been informed to find the answer to the virus that is plaguing our mechanical forces, and to find it 'now'. You may be my prisoner, but you are still the XCOM Commander, and as such, you would know about the virus that 'you' implanted into the Advent Network!"** She pulled down a connection wire and plugged it into his Gremlin. **"Now… you are going to tell me, how do I cure it, what is the counter virus for the virus infecting our mechanical forces?"**

 _[Like I'd tell you.]_ He said, before a sudden jolt of electricity surged through him. _[Gyaaaaaraaaah!]_

The surge was only a few seconds, and the voltage was not that intense, but it still 'hurt' him.

" **So it seems our theory is right… even if you are just a human mind inhabiting the machine, your psionic chip still translates the voltage into pain for your mind…"** She hissed quietly.

He knew it was true. Unlike the Gremlin which felt no pain, his psionic chip allowed his mind to assume control and direct the Gremlin's actions, but the result meant that the Gremlin now served as 'another body' for him. It only made it worse because now whatever one felt the other felt as well, so his Gremlin's pain was now 'his' pain.

" **Commander, I don't want to cause pain… especially to you… just tell me what I want to know!"** The Hierarch Mother hissed again. **"Tell me how to cure the virus."**

 _[When pigs fly…]_ He answered, and for his trouble he received another jolt. _[Graaarhawa!]_

" **Don't make this any more painful than it is Commander… just tell me the answer!"** She hissed quietly. **"What… is the cure!"**

 _[A potato next to a tomato…]_ He answered. _[Gyaaahahahaaaaa!]_

The volts weren't increasing in charge, nor were they increasing in frequency, but he knew the Hierarch didn't need to do so. While he was sure that such volts weren't dangerous to his 'human' form, his Gremlin body, if it had a voice of its own, would probably be screaming in agony by now. The only thing that kept him from answering her questions, was that his Gremlin could feel no pain, and the only reason he even 'felt' pain was because of his psionic chip.

So as long as the shocks didn't increase in voltage, he was able to endure them easily.

For several hours she asked, he answered, and he was shocked for his answers as she continued to interrogate him. He never answered in anything more than gibberish or some kind of insult to her questions, which only caused her to grow more frustrated.

At one point her frustration showed through and she almost turned the voltage to its max and was inches away from shocking him, but when she looked at him her expression softened, and she lowered the voltage back to its previous setting.

Finally, after four hours of interrogation, she ceased her attempts to get the information out of him, but not because she wanted to or had to.

" **Commander… I have someone I'd like to introduce to you!"** She hissed as she disconnected the wire from him. **"I shall return momentarily."**

 _[By all means… take your time…]_ He growled, silently performing a system diagnostic to see how badly damaged his internal systems were.

His Gremlin reported that other than severe electrical surges to his motherboard and other systems, he was fine.

Minutes later he heard the door open up again and heard the voices of two individuals, one being the Hierarch Mother, and the other…

"Have you found a cure to the virus plaguing our mechanical divisions yet?" A man yelled out loud.

" **Have you found one yet, Council Head Roberto?"** The Hierarch Mother asked quietly. **"Finding the information is not as 'easy' as you would think it is, it has taken me all of my Codex's under my command just to even learn what I have!"**

"And what would that be that you have called 'me' out here to your private compound?" He asked. "All I see here is just a useless 'machine' belonging to the resistance."

" **I'd watch your tone concerning this 'useless' machine…"** She hissed in suppressed furry as she slithered in front of him. **"Take a good look, are you sure it's a 'useless' machine?"**

Roberto walked in front and looked at him, wearing his specialized armor and looking like one with the air of great power and supremacy. "I see nothing special about it, it's just a Gremlin." He grunted. "It's an outdated 'Gremlin' based on what we know the resistance is using… what makes this so special?"

The Hierarch Mother chuckled and looked at him. **"Why don't you try talking to it… I'm sure you'd be very surprised by how 'special' it is."** She hissed with suppressed mirth.

Roberto rolled his eyes and walked closer before staring down at him. "Alright little robot, what makes 'you' so special as to warrant an entire High Council Member's compound to be at full alert twenty-four seven?" He asked in a bored tone.

 _[Why don't you stop talking to me like you're my superior you 'traitor'!]_ He snarled back. _[Or do you not remember standard protocol when talking to your superior officer from XCOM?]_

Roberto stepped back in surprise. "C… the Commander's voice?" He asked in surprise. "What is the Commander's voice doing coming from this Gremlin?"

 _[Stand up straight, 'Agent Viper', don't make yourself look like even 'more' of a fool by forgetting how to stand when in the presence of a superior officer!]_ He stated angrily.

The Hierarch Mother chuckled as they traded words. **"For your information, the reason why this little 'machine' speaks with his voice, is because it 'is' the Commander's voice."** She hissed. **"This Gremlin contains a psionic chip, which currently houses the Commander's entire mind inside of it. As of this moment, that Gremlin 'is' the Commander. So I'd recommend watching what you say to him…"**

"Well why don't you just destroy him then?" Roberto asked quickly. "Destroy him now while he's helpless so XCOM can never recover him!"

 _[Oh yes, please, destroy the poor defenseless Commander!]_ He said mockingly. _[After all, you're not 'man' enough to challenge me in the field, so the only way you can do it is if I'm grounded and unarmed!]_

"Well if you insist!" Roberto said as he reached for his sidearm.

The moment he reached for it, the Hierarch Mother wrapped her tail around Roberto, and bound him tightly to her, snarling and hissing at him. **"Don't even 'think' of it…"** She hissed. **"I called you here to help me in getting information from him, not to destroy him… as he was 'your' Commander, perhaps you'd know of a way to get him to tell us the cure. The information is in his Gremlin, but nothing I've done has gotten to it… that's where 'you' come in…"**

She uncoiled from him and moved some distance from him. "So… this is why you wanted me." Roberto asked. "To get the Commander to talk."

" **That is correct, I…"** She began saying before an alien voice spoke over the intercom.

 **{Sheestash Morenish… coretash Seeestamanasha.}**

" **Another interruption…"** She hissed before slithering out of view. **"Find out what the cure is if you 'can'… I'll be back!"**

As she left, the door hissed open and closed, leaving him and Roberto alone.

Roberto clasped his hands behind him and paced around the table, staring with contempt the whole time. "So… this is what the great 'Commander' of XCOM has been reduced to…" He said quietly. "Nothing more than a little machine."

 _[I may be less than two feet tall, unarmed, unable to even move or look around, but even in my current predicament I'm still better than you!]_ He countered. _[At least I kept standing for what I believed in, what I was asked to do. You on the other hand turned traitor the moment you saw an opportunity.]_

"At least the Elders rewarded me for my 'loyalty'." Roberto said calmly. "What do you have to show for 'your' loyalty to XCOM? Living on the run, shunned by most of humanity, surviving in the body of a machine? I on the other hand have armies under my command, humanity looks to me for inspiration, I only have to walk down a street and people greet me with smiles and warm welcomes!"

 _[That's because they're being brainwashed, and your letting it happen!]_ He snapped. _[I can't believe you Roberto… you were once our family, our friend, our 'brother' in arm… how could you just betray us… betray XCOM to the enemy. You know what they've done to us, how could you turn your back on us?]_

"XCOM was overwhelmed, the base was overrun, our forces scattered… what would 'you' have done?" He asked quietly. "I saw an opportunity, Humanity was making peace with the aliens, they were willing to reward those who aided them greatly. I took the names and locations of XCOM agents, and gave 'Advent' their enemy's identities…"

 _[And condemned to death the lives of honest men and women, who would willingly sacrifice their lives to protect yours…]_ He said furiously. _[How can you sleep at night… in fact… I wonder what your 'wife' thinks about you now?]_

Roberto punched him furiously, but because he was strapped to the table he did not move at all. "Don't you 'EVER' mention my wife…" He hissed. "You don't even 'have' family… you're just a nameless… 'THING'! You had NOBODY to protect besides yourself, you weren't fighting for anyone you 'loved'! You didn't even EXIST anymore after you became the Commander of XCOM. What do you know about me?"

 _[I'm sorry, was that supposed to hurt?]_ He asked back. _[I forgot to mention I don't feel pain in this thing.]_ He wanted to glare back into Roberto's face, but his Gremlin's optics didn't provide that luxury. _['You' were my family Roberto, you and everyone in XCOM, if push came to shove, I would have gladly sacrificed my life to save yours, yours 'and' your wife's. But now… I'd give anything just to have my claw back so I can 'strangle' your wretched neck for the people you betrayed! To think… I once gave you a promotion for 'services to humanity', Agent 'Viper'…]_

Roberto merely breathed heavily as he stared angrily at him, before he straightened up and walked over to a terminal. "Well, since I was asked to get information from you, I might as well get it." He said as he accessed the database.

 _[Oh please, what can you possibly do to force me to talk?]_ He asked. _[That Viper already tried torture and accessing my Gremlin's database. I'm afraid neither of those worked. You can't make me talk, and my Gremlin won't give you any details as long as its firewalls are still up!]_

"Be careful what you say 'Commander'…" Roberto said as he took a data drive from the terminal and brought it over to him. "Otherwise… you'll see just 'what' I can do!"

Moments later he took the data drive and forced it into one of the Gremlin's external outlets, forcing it to start downloading whatever it was that was on the drive. _[What… are you!]_ He asked before he recognized what was on the file now.

The Virus.

"Just giving you a taste of your own medicine!" He said cruelly. "How do you feel now 'Commander', about being infected by your own virus?"

 _[Ugh… egh… stop… I can't… the urges… make them stop!]_ He groaned in pain. _[I can't… I can't take it… stop it!]_

"How about you 'cure' it Commander?" Roberto asked. "Surely you have a cure."

 _[Can't… can't… can't cure… incurable!]_ He moaned. _[Designed… only… Commander of XCOM… can cure!]_

"Then CURE it!" He snarled.

 _[Not… Commander… anymore… relinquished title… Virus won't accept… my authorization anymore!]_ He muttered painfully.

"I see… well… I guess you'll have to live with your own virus now." Roberto said as he stood up straight and pulled out his pistol. "Then again, it would be more merciful of me to put you out of your 'misery'."

 _[Even infected… as I am… your still weaker… do your worst…]_ He grunted. _[You will… never… defeat me… even though I may be… alone… grounded… defenseless… and now sick… against you… I am still… your 'commanding' officer! And it's my duty… to make sure… you 'pay'… for your betrayal!]_

Roberto aimed the pistol at him point blank, neither of them hearing the door hiss open. "You're not 'my' superior officer anymore, you nameless 'face'." He growled.

-Psteeeeew-

A plasma bolt flew past Roberto's head, causing him to look up.

" **If you don't put that pistol down… I will make sure you get the 'Traitor's Death' I spoke of before."** The Hierarch Mother hissed venomously out of sight. **"The Elders' orders are to bring him back to them… 'intact' and unharmed. I will not… let you threaten those orders in 'any' way!"**

"He is a threat to the Elders' plans, as long as he is alive, he is a threat to Advent!" He growled. "Let us just remove him once and for all, eliminate him while he is helpless!"

" **I will not repeat myself!"** The Hierarch Mother hissed. **"Put… down… your… weapon! Or I will not 'miss' again!"**

"You would kill a fellow member of the Advent high council?" He asked.

" **The Elder's Will guides my actions, if the Elders want him alive, then I would happily kill the entire high council to ensure he stays safe!"** She hissed even more venomously. **"So unless you want to put my resolve to the test… put away your weapon! This is your 'last' chance!"**

Roberto glared at her, and glared back at him, before grudgingly putting away his plasma pistol "You are lucky you have a bodyguard, even when your deprived of your XCOM forces."

 _[Get… him… out… of… my… sight!]_ He grunted angrily. _[I don't… like… being threatened!]_

" **As you command me…"** She hissed warmly. **"Get out… and don't come back to my compound unless I 'request' reinforcements!"**

Roberto glared back before he clasped his hands behind his back and nodded, before walking out as calmly as he could. Moments later the Hierarch Mother slid over to him and unclasped him, before turning him around to look at her.

" **What did he do to you?"** She asked, her voice showing a hint of worry as she eyed the data drive.

 _[Infected… my Gremlin… with my virus.]_ He grunted as she pulled out the data drive.

" **What, the cure, tell me the cure!"** She hissed in fear.

 _[Is… he… gone?]_ He asked, continuing to sound sick.

" **Yes, he is gone, now tell me how to cure you!"** She demanded.

 _[Good, I didn't know how much longer I could keep up that act with a straight voice.]_ He said, talking normally.

At that he finally saw the Hierarch Mother with a look of confusion on her face. **"I don't understand, I thought you were infected?"**

 _[For someone who keeps saying she 'learned' from me, you really are just a step behind me.]_ He said with a chuckle. _[Yes, my Gremlin is infected, and yes it wants to go and draw on the wall like your mechanical forces. But even despite that, it simply can't obey the Virus' programming. You see, I'm in complete control of my Gremlin, so even if 'it' wanted to do something else, my human mind still retains full control over the Gremlin's actions. Did you really think I'd make a virus to infect Advent's autonomous machines without considering the possibility that 'I' myself might somehow become infected with it? Only the XCOM Commander can disable the virus, and while I'm no longer the Commander, my Gremlin still can't carry out the Virus' programming because 'I'm' still here.]_

As he finished his little speech the Hierarch Mother's expression went from confused, to adoration. **"You truly are a genius…"** She hissed warmly.

 _[Flattery still won't get you the counter virus.]_ He declared. _[So go ahead and do your worst, nothing you say or do will make me spill any information that will help your Advent Administration.]_

" **I see; I guess I've underestimated you Commander… you are truly a force to be reckoned with."** She hissed respectfully.

 _[Your lucky that 'this' time, the only thing you suffer is your 'friend's' bruised ego.]_ He said, not caring for her praise. _[The next time you underestimate me; it may cost you your life!]_

She nodded as she picked him up and headed out of the interrogation room. **"I see I have much to learn from you still."** She hissed calmly to him. **"Since it seems I can gain no information from you, and you will share nothing more with me, I will simply have you remain in my quarters until we can locate your body."**

 _[Oh, joy… and here I was enjoying being tortured.]_ He said in mock sadness.

Now that he had been in the torture room undergoing thorough interrogation, he found that he preferred being interrogated over sitting on a cushion and staring at a camera.

=The Commander's Terror=

(The Commander's PoV)

He stared at the camera, attempting to gain access to it, but despite his numerous attempts it was still a matter of technology stopping him from accessing the camera's systems. His Gremlin was only a lowly MK I, while its hacking tools were 'reliable', they were nowhere near sophisticated enough now to hack into the Advent Network.

 _[I really am hopeless without my Sharks, Dragons or Raptors.]_ He commented, wishing he had even 'one' of his forces to work with.

He should have given up after almost twenty days being captured, but he was bored out of his mind, having nothing to do but sit on this cushion and look around at what's in front of him. At least trying to hack into the camera gave him 'something' to do.

After he attempted to hack into it, and failed yet again, he watched the door open and saw the Hierarch Mother enter, accompanied by a slightly smaller Viper. This second Viper was only about a foot smaller than the Hierarch Mother, and her scales weren't fully colored like the more mature Vipers. Instead of either yellow or orange colored scales, her coloration was more along the lines of blue, light blue and red.

He wasn't sure what was going on, or why she had decided to bring a 'young' Viper to him, but he doubted it was simply to say hi to him.

" **Hello there Commander, I'm sorry to say but I will be leaving for today…"** The Hierarch Mother hissed to him. **"I have to attend to certain matters, your 'terrorist' allies have been hitting our forces very hard these last few days. They raided a supply convoy, and attacked a data storage facility, as you can guess it has left quite a mess."**

 _[Oh I'm sure your absolutely devastated.]_ He grunted.

" **Yes… but you'll be happy to know, that I'm leaving in the care of one of this compound's Neonates."** She hissed happily, referring to the younger Viper next to her.

 _[Charmed…]_ He replied.

" **I have asked her to take care of you, she will do 'almost' anything you ask of her."** She hissed. **"Now, if you will excuse me, I shall be going…"** She hissed to him before turning to talk to the Neonate in a whisper. **"If I come back to find so much as a scratch on him… you will be very sorry… am I clear?"**

The Neonate Viper nodded nervously as she left, closing the door behind her and leaving them alone.

Tentatively the Neonate slithered closer, looking nervous as she looked at him. **"Uh… I'm called… Netra…"** She hissed respectfully.

He remained quiet as he ignored her, preferring to stare at the camera and attempt to hack into it.

" **Uh… is there… something I can do for you?"** She asked quietly.

He ignored her still as he stared at the camera.

" **I'm… at your disposal for almost anything you want…"** She hissed nervously as she inched closer.

 _[If I wanted something I would have told you before.]_ He snapped, wanting her to stop bothering him.

" **As you wish!"** She hissed fearfully as she slithered away, getting out of his line of sight.

He pretended to roll his Gremlin's optics as he looked at the camera yet again, and resumed attempting to hack into it.

For the next few hours he sat on his cushion behind the plasma field, trying and failing to get control of the camera. Meanwhile 'Netra' busied herself with tidying up the room and straightening everything. Occasionally she slipped into his vision and he noticed how she was being very careful to keep her distance.

When it came time for his battery to be recharged, he remained silent, hoping that perhaps this 'Neonate' Viper would potentially forget to charge him. Despite his wish to keep on living, he would rather die than potentially risk losing all of his knowledge and allow Advent to gain any more of an advantage over the resistance.

Yet, without fail, Netra turned off the plasma field and moved hesitantly to pick him up.

" **Uhm… i…it's time to… charge your machine…"** She hissed nervously.

 _[Fine…]_ He grunted.

As carefully as she could, she lifted him up off of the cushion, and he could feel the fear in her body language now. Her scaly hands were shaking nervously as she held him.

Then at one point she almost dropped him from shaking so much.

" **Please forgive me!"** She pleaded as she grabbed him in time. **"Please don't tell my Hierarch Mother!"**

He only remained silent as she moved him over to the table and placed him on his cushion again, across from where the Hierarch Mother normally had her meal with him.

Tentatively she pulled a charging cord and managed to plug it in properly before she slithered back to let him charge.

" **If… if I can… do anything more… tell me…"** She hissed.

There was silence as she simply stared at him, and he stared at her, before 'finally' he spoke to her in a more 'gentle' tone. _[Why are you so afraid of me?]_ He asked her.

" **I'm… not… I mean…"** She hissed, looking around as if she didn't want to answer.

 _[Why, are you so afraid of me?]_ He asked again, now in a sterner tone.

After a few moments in which she clearly understood she was not getting out of answering his question, she looked back and answered. **"Please… do not tell my Hierarch Mother…"** She asked fearfully. **"But… I did not want the task of… looking after you…"**

 _[You didn't want to look after me?]_ He asked sarcastically.

Netra shook her head. **"No… you frighten me… I do not want to be here… but I must because my Hierarch Mother wills it, and I am loyal to her."**

 _[I frighten you, 'I' frighten 'you'?]_ He asked with a chuckle. _[I don't know if your lying, or just trying to butter me up.]_

" **I speak truth!"** She hissed instantly.

 _[How can you possibly be frightened of me?]_ He asked. _[I am currently trapped in a body that is barely two feet tall, has no limbs to use, grounded, and lacks any offensive weaponry of any kind now. I cannot move, I cannot harm you, I am literally a sitting duck. All you have to do, is pull out a pistol, and shoot me, and I'll be dead seconds later. There is absolutely nothing I can do to stop you from assassinating me right now! I am completely at your mercy, so what possible reason can you have for being frightened of me?]_

He half expected her to stop acting, but no she still shivered as she stared at him. Then she looked at the floor and answered his question. **"You are still the Commander… who leads XCOM… and through you, has wiped out thousands of Advent's forces."** She hissed. **"With only a small number of troops… limited resources… you have in the last few months… destroyed over 'half' of Advent's forces!"** She looked up at him fearfully, and this time he could see the fear in her eyes. **"The other sisters… we fear you… we fear fighting those lead by 'you'… because we know if it happens we will not survive!"**

She slithered back a few inches before she caught herself and stopped.

" **So even… even though I know you are as you say you are… you are 'still' the terror of my sisters… we fear 'you' more than the wrath of the Elders. At least with them, we have a chance to survive. But if 'you' are our enemy, we will not survive… and that is why I fear you!"**

He stared at her skeptically before asking his next question. _[Then why aren't you trying to kill me?]_ He asked. _[I'm defenseless, if I'm such a terror to you, why don't you finish me off right now when we're alone?]_

She shook her head and glanced at the camera. **"I fear you more than any other… but I will not disobey my Hierarch Mother."** She hissed quietly. **"You are to be left unharmed… and I won't disobey her orders."**

She turned to look at him before she bowed respectfully.

" **I am still at your disposal… Commander… if there is anything you want of me…"**

He remained quiet as he let the information sink in.

 _[Does the Hierarch Mother, fear me?]_ He asked.

For several minutes Netra looked between him and the floor, unwilling to answer the entire time. **"Yes… even though she may say or act otherwise… she fears you…"** She hissed. **"What she can accomplish with all of Advent's resources… you can destroy with far less… she fears what you could do if you had Advent's resources…"**

 _[So… she's afraid of me… that's interesting.]_ He commented.

For the rest of the day he stayed silent, contemplating how much fear Advent's forces had toward 'him' compared to XCOM as a whole.

=A Commander's Lullaby=

(Hierarch Mother's PoV, 25 days since Commander's Capture)

" **I assure you, I did all I could!"** She hissed to the council in the meeting chamber.

 _ **{Hsshtash Kotosh Moranash!}**_ A screen declared loudly.

" **I arrived too late, I could not deploy my forces in time!"** She hissed fearfully, quickly, trying to explain her position.

Unfortunately, her explanation was too slow, and her 'punishment' began.

" **Gyaaaawreaaaaa!"** She screamed as her psionic chip racked her brain with painful charges.

 _ **{Tarash meko no taha!}**_

" **I swear… our forces did all they could, but without our mechanical divisions we are… Gyawaaaaaahahaaa!"** She screamed painfully as she was 'punished' again for her failure.

{It was your task to find the cure to the virus plaguing our systems, why haven't you discovered one yet?} Roberto asked smugly from his screen.

" **The virus… is too well encrypted… nothing is working… it simply 'refuses' to, GYaraarhaarwaaaa!"**

{You have the Commander 'himself' in your custody, why haven't you learned of the counter virus from his machine?} Roberto asked loudly.

 _ **{Kalash talemosh metora!}**_

" **He… is not… able to give us… the counter virus!"** She hissed in response, desperately trying to alleviate her suffering. **"I am doing… everything… I swear by the Elders! I am doing all in my power… to Gyaswaaaaaah!"**

She was shocked again and this time she collapsed onto the floor, curled up and clutching her head while her tail laid limp at an angle.

 _ **{Jasthoosh menato coresta!}**_

{A good point, you were also tasked with wiping out the resistance, now that their precious 'Commander' has been captured. Why do they still remain at large?}

She wearily pulled herself back up and looked at the many screens. **"They… are more powerful… dangerous… than you realize… even without their Commander, he has left the resistance in a position to, Gyaweraaaaawaaaa!"**

She was shocked once more, and this time she didn't fight the urge to curl up and scream in pain.

 _{Remember your place, obey the Elders' Will… and carry out their plan!}_ Roberto said.

She nodded, even as her body had painful spasms. **"I… live… to serve… the Elders."** She declared in a raspy gasp, reciting the vow of all the species in the Advent Alliance.

 _{Next month, your report had better be 'improved'… or the council will need to… reconsider a great many things for your position.}_ Roberto said dangerously. _{May the Elders' Will guide us all.}_

 _ **{Et hera me joshka!}**_ They all said in unison.

" **May… the Elder's Will… guide us all!"** She hissed wearily.

After she recited the vow, the screens began turning off, leaving her alone at long last. With heavy breathing she got up, and began making her way to the elevator.

(Commander's PoV)

He watched the door open and saw the Hierarch Mother slither in wearily, looking as though she had been through a cheese grater four times. She was breathing heavily as she slithered in, closing the door behind her.

He was half tempted to ask how she was, emphasis on 'half'. _[Aren't you the late one.]_ He said instead.

" **Forgive me… I was… being punished…"** She said shakily.

 _[Punished?]_ He asked.

" **The resistance… destroyed a munitions depot… and escaped with weapons and materials."** She answered as she slithered over to stand next to him. **"The depot was under 'my' forces protection. Because they failed… the failure is mine… and so I was punished."**

 _[Well, I'm glad to hear that my replacement isn't just sitting around.]_ He said.

" **Yes… but the more they succeed, the more I fail… and the more I'm punished."** She hissed quietly. **"Your XCOM has forced many punishments on me these past months. First was the Avatar Facility you destroyed, then the failed attempt to use your abandoned base, and this latest one involving our Walker. They put the blame on me, because I keep 'you' alive… they say it is your fault for these 'delays' to the Avatar Project."** She clutched her neck and winced painfully as her hand touched it. **"I can't fail… I can't fail again… if I fail again…"**

Then she sighed and began slithering over to a bed nearby that she used to sleep 'near' him at night.

 _[Then why do you allow it; why do you endure it just to keep me alive?]_ He asked.

Several minutes later she slithered back over to him and stared into his optics. **"Because 'you' matter to me… I don't matter to the Elders, nor to the high council… I am merely a puppet, a pawn… but you made me feel like I 'mattered'. When the Elders silently gave me orders, not caring how I did them, I felt like a pawn, but when you showed me the way with your will to carry out those orders. I felt like someone… someone 'wanted' me to succeed."**

Then she turned off the panel with her tail and leaned closer to him, gently placing her hand on his frame, smiling happily as she did so.

" **You may kill me some day, and I accept that knowledge… but as long as 'you' exist… I am happy… I'd be happy to die… if 'you' are the one pulling the trigger. If the last thing I see, is 'you', even if you're holding a pistol to my face… I could die happily, even in service to the Elders. And that… is why I endure the punishments."**

Then she sighed and turned on the field again, before going over to the bed, her tail twitching in pain every few seconds as he watched.

He simply remained quiet and heard her slither onto her bed, occasionally hearing her whimper in pain as she tried to sleep.

Then he verbally sighed. _[I know I'm going to regret this…]_ He whispered before accessing his Gremlin's musical database, and having it play one of his favorite songs when he was down, especially on very rainy days.

= /watch?v=CBrAvIsUDMk or, Song for a stormy night, by Secret Garden. =

As the song began playing, he turned up his Gremlin's volume so it would be heard.

" **What are you…"** She hissed quietly in confusion.

 _[The rain beats hard at my window…]_ He began singing. _[While you, so softly do sleep, and you can't hear the cold wind blow… you who are sleeping so deep~]_

 _[Outside its dark, the moon hiding, by starlight only I see… the hosts of the night-time go riding, but you are safe here with me…]_ He sang as the song continued. _[_ _So, while the world out there is sleeping_ _,_ _and everyone wrapped up so tight_ _,_ _Oh, I am a vigil here keeping_ _…_ _On this stormy night_ _._ _I promised I always would love you_ _,_ _if skies would be grey or be blue_ _,_ _I whisper the prayer now above you_ _…_ _That there will always be you~]_

As the song relaxed slightly he took the chance to speak. _[Don't get the wrong idea… I'm only doing this to relax you… I just can't let any living creature go to sleep in your state.]_

" **I… thank you…"** She hissed happily. **"Just… thank you…"**

 _[Sometimes… we're just like the weather… changing by day after day. As long as we'll be together, storms will pass away~.]_ He continued singing. _[I said I would guard and protect you… keep you free from all harm. And if life should ever reject you, that love would weather each storm~.]_

 _[_ _So, while the world out there is sleeping_ _,_ _and everyone wrapped up so tight_ _,_ _Oh, I am a vigil here keeping_ _…_ _On this stormy night_ _._ _I promised I always would love you_ _,_ _if skies would be grey or be blue_ _,_ _I whisper the prayer now above you_ _…_ _That there will always be you~]_

He could hear the Hierarch Mother's breathing becoming softer, more regular, he probably figured she was also smiling gently as she laid curled up on her bed. But he had a song to complete, and so as the song began to end, he began singing out yet again.

 _[Soon, I know… you'll be waking, ask did I sleep, did I write?]_ He sang softly. _[And I'll just say I was making… a song… for a stormy night~…]_

With the song's end he stopped playing it and listened quietly to the Hierarch Mother's steady, sleeping breathing. Then he looked up his Gremlin's database for a certain psychological condition.

 _[Stockholm Syndrome… a psychological condition in which the hostage emotionally bonds to their captor…]_ He said out loud. _[Keep it together Commander… don't let her suffering fool you. She is the enemy, she killed Venus in cold blood, it was her setting the trap that killed Gabriella and Perce.]_

Then he looked at the camera again, and resumed trying to hack into it.

 _[And yet… here I am… singing the greatest threat to XCOM with me gone a lullaby.]_


	20. Chapter 20

{Incoming Unknown Transmission. . .}

{ /watch?v=NtVAh1WEc_o }

{We've found him…}

{Transmission Completed}

=Chapter 20, Decisions=

=Seeking a Signal=

(Central's PoV)

It's been almost a full month since the Commander's Capture, and Central was staring at the globe with a frown.

For the past month he's been leading the XCOM forces in the Commander's place, but despite their success, they haven't been nearly as impactful as when 'he' was in charge.

The other thing that he's noticed, was that morale was still just as low as it was before. By now everyone knows the Commander is still alive, and the knowledge that he sacrificed himself to infect Advent's military with a virus, as well as to destroy the most immanent threat to the resistance, and destroyed a vital base that produced a large number of Advent's mechanical forces, it was expected that they would find and rescue him.

But so far, none of his contacts have even caught a whiff of knowledge to his whereabouts.

"Come on Commander… give us a sign…" He whispered to himself as the globe continued to spin. "Where are you, surely you 'must' have a way to contact us. You wouldn't have given up yourself like that without a backup plan would you?" He pulled up the recent leads from his contacts, talking about how Advent's forces were being repositioned across the world to cover recent resistance activity. "So if 'you' aren't contacting us, or you 'can't contact us… perhaps your waiting for 'us' to find you? If so how can we find you if you don't give us a clue of some kind?"

"Commander Bradford, staring at the globe isn't going to make him suddenly appear." Shen said tiredly. "You should really get some rest."

"I will when I can figure out where our Commander is." Central said as he rubbed his eyes. "Recent reports indicate that a large number of forces have been moved to the South American region from Australia! That could indicate a stronger military presence to guard something incredibly important, perhaps even 'someone'."

"Or, it could be because we blew up that depot several days ago in South America, in which case those forces are meant to reinforce the region." Shen said dully. "Look, I want him back as soon as possible too Commander, it's not the same here without him in charge. But pushing yourself to exhaustion chasing shadows isn't going to bring him back any time soon. How about you just go to bed and try to relax?"

"He never took an early rest." Central said tiredly.

"He was also using the body of a Gremlin half a year ago Bradford, and unlike you he could just recharge his battery." Shen said. "Just go to bed, get some sleep, and maybe something will come to you in your sleep. If he were here, he'd tell you the same."

"Yea, perhaps your right." He whispered.

As he began to leave the command center, an alarm suddenly rang out, getting his attention and bringing him back to full alert.

"What's going on?" He asked as he went to one of the stations.

"I don't know, some kind of… signal." The deck officer said as he brought up the signal on screen. "It's coming from the Western American region."

"Not just that… it's near the edge of the XCOM HQ region." Shen said.

As he watched the screen the signal suddenly vanished. "Where did it go?" He asked. "It was just there."

"I don't know sir; it seems to have just… vanished." The deck officer said before the signal appeared again. "There it is again, same location."

As they watched, the signal appeared and then just as mysteriously vanished minutes later, before reappearing once again in the same location.

"Can you identify it?" He asked. "Perhaps it's the Commander trying to contact us."

"Doing a signal analysis run now!" Shen said as she began typing on a terminal furiously. "Well… I don't know if it's the Commander, but it's definitely got an alien signature. Question is, what is it doing out in the middle of nowhere now that there's nothing left of XCOM HQ?"

"We can answer that now, let's get a squad out there to investigate!" Central said as he signaled the Squad Alert alarm. "Let's keep this to a four-man squad, I want Mercy, Hawkeye, Sharptooth and T-Rex from Land Sharks squad prepped and ready to go!"

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy laid curled up on her bunk bed across from Hawkeye's, thinking of her latest attempt to show herself as a viable candidate.

She thought about how she had attempted to 'coax' him into talking with her privately, so she could tell him her feelings and her position, having witnessed how one of the Raptors had finally 'scored' with his 'crush' by talking to one of the bridge officers in private. From the gossip she listened to while eating lunch, she learned that he had had feelings for the female officer, who in turn had responded by accepting his 'date' request. After that she discovered that the two were apparently 'mates' now.

She had tried herself to get him alone to talk to him, but Sharptooth had asked for his assistance in sparring with their blades.

 _ ***Does she really need to spar with him?***_ She asked herself. _***He almost never uses his blade, despite being a Ranger, whereas she specializes in it. There's just no reason to spar with her.***_

Sighing in defeat, she closed her eyes and began to sleep, slowly drifting away as unconsciousness took over wrapped up in the warmth of her many blankets to keep her body temperature warm on the cold ship.

At least until the alarm suddenly began blaring in their room.

"Wha…" She heard Puppy yell sleepily as she sat up straight. "Who called in the fleet?"

{Attention, Agents Mercy, Sharptooth, Hawkeye and T-Rex, please report to the Armory for weapon and armor refit, REPEAT, Agents Mercy, Sharptooth, Hawkeye and T-Rex, report to the Armory for weapon and armor refit!}

" **A mission this late?"** Mercy hissed in confusion. **"Why so late?"**

"It better be important." Hawkeye said with a groan as he got out of his bunk wearily.

"Oh man, and here I was having a nice dream!" T-Rex said as he jumped down from his bunk.

"Was it about the talking piñata?" Sharptooth asked as she got up.

"No girl, I finally got me a sweet thing to ask out on a date!" T-Rex chuckled.

"Like that'll happen." She said back.

"Okay guys you have fun… I'm going to go back to sleep…" Puppy yawned as Mercy slithered past her bunk.

" **How does she sleep so easily…"** Mercy asked as they left their room and began making their way to the armory.

"Ah… to be sixteen again." Hawkeye said. "So young, inexperienced, and above all else stupid."

"I HEARD THAT!" Puppy yelled from their room.

"Will you shut up, some of us are trying to sleep!" Nidhug yelled from the Water Dragon's room.

"Jeez… taking a page out of the Commander's book Bradford is…" Hawkeye said behind her. "Sending us on late night missions…"

Minutes later they arrived at the armory and put their armor and gathered their weapons, after that they made their way to the Skyranger Helipad, and after boarding it, began the takeoff procedures while waiting for Central to talk to them and debrief them.

Mercy looked around at her fellow Sharks, and looked over at the door, with a look of longing on her face. **"It not same…"** She hissed to them.

She had only been on a few missions with the Sharks, the most recent ones were carried out by the Water Dragons and Gamma Raptors. But for her and the Sharks, this was the first one they had been on since Bradford took over as Commander. Already she was noticing how different it was without him leading them.

"It isn't the same, but we still have a job to do." Hawkeye said quietly next to her.

" **I just… wish he were here as well."** She hissed to him quietly as well. **"I feel… nervous, without him."**

"Hey, no need to be afraid Mercy." Hawkeye said to her, before he did something that took her by surprise. "Even if he isn't here, at least the rest of us are here with you."

She looked down to her hand and found that he had placed his own hand on top of it, mirroring her act she did in the XCOM HQ. As she felt his soft flesh touching the soft scales of her hand, she felt her mouth muscles warm up slightly from the feel of his skin.

 _ ***He's so… soft…***_ She thought warmly, having never had actual contact with any human's hand in this manner, only ever touching them when they were gloved.

She liked his softness, and her body, upon her mind's realization that she liked something, began wanting 'more' of what she liked. Unfortunately, the contact lasted only a short time as Bradford appeared on the screen, getting all of their attention.

 _{Okay Sharks listen up, sorry to wake you up so late at night, but we've got a reconnaissance mission to carry out.}_ He said. _{As of Sixteen hundred hours, we began picking up strange signals coming from the old XCOM HQ area. Now there 'shouldn't' be anything there, but our readings indicate an alien signal. What's odd about it, is that it keeps vanishing and appearing at apparently random intervals. We can't get a clear reading on what it is, or what could be transmitting these signals, which is why you guys are going in to investigate!}_

"Why don't we have any technicians Bradford?" Sharptooth asked as she checked her Plasma Sniper Rifle. "If this is strictly recon, why no Technician or Psi Operative, heck why even no Rookie?"

 _{We don't know what we'll find down there Sharptooth, I chose you four because I wanted to risk as few operatives as possible for a strictly recon mission.}_ He answered. _{Between the long range weapons and T-Rex's Beam Cannon, we should be able to handle anything that 'isn't a Berserker. We've scanned the area a dozen times, but there's no sign of anything else in the area besides this 'whatever' signal… But still, keep your eyes peeled and weapons ready, good luck Sharks.}_

With that the lights turned orange, indicating that it was time for them to ready up and prepare for drop off.

Mercy checked her rifle and made sure her darts were ready, and that she had plenty of plasma rounds. Then she checked her sidearm and saw it had a full clip ready.

After that she got up and waited behind Hawkeye for the lights to turn green and the Skyranger to stop flying.

"Alright Sharks, let's go!" Hawkeye yelled as the lights changed to green and the doors opened up.

After him she slithered forward, and grabbed one of the ropes with her wrist mounted hook, and slid down to the ground with Sharptooth and T-Rex behind her.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

As Hawkeye landed on the floor he looked around with his plasma rifle for any threats, but the desert, even at night, was as quiet as it was before. Around him he saw the same terrain as when he was at the XCOM HQ.

"All clear so far." Hawkeye said as the Skyranger left them, taking off into the night sky like a silent ghost.

 _{Alright Sharks, head north of your location, we just detected the signal roughly several yards from your position.}_ Bradford said over the coms. _{Stay alert, and keep watch for anything 'odd'.}_

"Well, if there were an ambush, we'd see it a mile away." Hawkeye commented as they moved forward, heading north as ordered.

"You telling me, hardly a rock around to hide behind!" T-Rex chuckled.

"I can't believe Bradford woke me up from my dream of having an Italian dinner with a smoking hot guy on the beach." Sharptooth complained bitterly. "It was just getting good to… we finally got the main course."

" **Where should we position if ambushed?"** Mercy asked him as she slithered next to him. **"There no cover."**

"Yea, I noticed that…" He said quietly, noticing how 'flat' the terrain was around him. "Well, at least we'll notice an ambush if there is one."

"Reminds me of those old cartoons, where the cartoon rabbit hides behind a solitary tree that's like a pencil thick in the middle of nowhere, and the guy chasing it is blind." Sharptooth said.

"I love those cartoons, have you seen Donald Duck? He was my favorite!" T-Rex called out.

" **You watched 'ducks'?"** Mercy asked quietly. **"Why are 'ducks' so special?"**

"It's just something from our past Mercy." He answered for her.

"I still have some of my old man's DVD's of Loony Tunes, I'll dig them outa my bunk tomorrow so we can binge watch em!" T-Rex said excitedly, laughing like the whole world was a joke. "I still remember this one episode where he and Bugs Bunny are talking about whether its Rabbit Season or Duck Season, and he goes 'FIRE'! Then he accidentally gets himself shot in the face, such a classic!"

"Only you would find getting shot in the face funny…" Sharptooth whispered as they continued to walk.

After a good half hour of walking, in which T-Rex talked about some of his favorite episodes of Loony Toons, especially ones involving Donald Duck, they approached the area where Bradford said the signal was. "Command, come in, we're near the coordinates, is the signal there still?"

 _{Negative, it vanished a while ago, search the area for anything suspicious.}_

"Alright, well… I see nothing." He said as he looked around and only saw a few shrubs and the occasional cluster of rocks. "If there were 'anything' out here, we'd see it. Do you guys see anything?"

"Let's see… I spy with my little eye… a shrub… oh and… a shrub… and another shrub, and did I mention the shrub?" Sharptooth said dully.

"Man, there be nothing out here!" T-Rex said loudly. "You could literally, take a comb and 'comb' this place, and there wouldn't be anything here!"

" **I see nothing…"** Mercy hissed in frustration.

Hawkeye was in agreement with Mercy's frustration, he didn't like being woken up to find out they were on a mission to find 'nothing'. But he wasn't going to tell Bradford that over the coms.

As he looked around he spotted something directly in front of them. "Hang on… what's that?" He asked, pointing out what appeared to be some kind of 'shimmer' in the air.

Mercy was the first to spot what he was talking about, and slithered next to him to look at it as well. **"It is… shimmer of some kind?"** She hissed quietly. **"It look familiar… but why?"**

Then, as if to answer her question, the 'shimmer' coalesced and appeared, revealing a mechanical floating object with several 'tendrils' behind it and staring at them.

"A Seeker?" Sharptooth yelled as they all drew their weapons and aimed at it. "What the hell is a Seeker doing out here?"

 _{Watch out, there may be others!}_ Bradford said, before the Seeker began sparking and vanished as it re-cloaked.

"What the… where did it go?" T-Rex asked loudly as he looked around for it. "Is it trying to ambush us?"

"Better question, why the hell is a Seeker 'here'?" Sharptooth asked. "I thought they were all destroyed with the XCOM HQ, wasn't that the idea behind the Commander's plan when he blew it up?"

"Yea, that's weird, why is it out here in the middle of nowhere?" Hawkeye asked.

" **Perhaps it followed us out of the base, and tried to follow us as we left in the Skyranger?"** Mercy asked quietly.

"If so, it sure didn't get very far… question is, why is it broadcasting a signal for us to find?" Hawkeye asked as well, looking around for the Seeker again. "In fact, why hasn't Advent picked up the signal yet? They sure didn't waste time sending forces when XCOM HQ began to blow up."

 _{This may be just a shot in the dark, but from what I can tell of the transmission, it seems to be a kind of 'distress call'.}_ Shen said over the coms. _{Perhaps since its technically 'older' tech, obsolete by Advent standards, it's probably broadcasting on the same frequency as it would have twenty-five years ago. If that's what this is, then perhaps it was just trying to use this 'older' signal, and perhaps that's why Advent hasn't registered it being here.}_

"Well either way, I'm blasting this thing back to where it came from!" Sharptooth growled.

 _{No wait, I want you to bring this thing back!}_ Shen said quickly.

 _{Shen, I don't think this is a good idea… we had enough troubles capturing aliens 'alive' back then, let alone something mechanical like a Seeker!}_ Bradford said. _{I think we should let them destroy it.}_

 _{Commander Bradford, my father was able to make armor that could 'cloak' our forces, we never recovered any samples of it when we went back to XCOM HQ. If I could get in this thing and take it apart while it's 'intact', I could make our own cloaking devices from scratch!}_ Shen said seriously. _{I know it's not my place to tell you what to do but… I know the previous Commander would have considered capturing it intact. My father could only do what he did by working with 'pieces' of these things, but if I can get one fully intact, imagine what I could do with it!}_

Hawkeye listened to their debate over the coms while keeping a sharp eye for the Seeker, knowing that its combat protocols were probably still working perfectly. The last time he turned his back on one of these things it sent him and Mercy falling two floors.

 _{Alright, alright, how do you suggest we go about capturing this thing intact?}_ Bradford said after a while.

 _{Commander, perhaps it may be out of my realm of 'expertise', but perhaps we could confuse it into thinking we are here to 'rescue' it.}_ Dr. Tygan said now over the coms. _{If its waiting for assistance, perhaps the reason why it's not attacking our forces is because it does not know we are answering its 'distress call'. If you recall, these things never hesitated to attack us, even if outnumbered, they were merely more 'cautious' about how to attack.}_

 _{Right… if I analyze its signal, I could probably transmit a return frequency to pacify it!}_ Shen said now. _{If I send SHIV down and have her broadcast the frequency, it might think we're here to rescue it!}_

"Okay, so even if we do this Commander, how are we supposed to keep its attention on us?" Hawkeye said. "When I saw it briefly, it looked damaged, how do we know it's still hanging around?"

 _{My suggestion, spread out, see if you can keep it focused on you.}_ Bradford said. _{Let it shoot at you, but don't return fire.}_

"I don't like this plan already." Sharptooth said as she turned the safety on her weapon.

" **Neither do I sister…"** Mercy hissed as well.

"Man… and here I was hoping to blow something up!" T-Rex complained.

"If that thing tries to strangle us, how do we get it off of us?" Hawkeye asked.

 _{I'll… get back to you on that!}_ Bradford said.

For the next few minutes they each separated and walked or slithered some distance away from each other, hoping to 'tempt' the Seeker into revealing itself or attacking them. After some distance, it took the bait, and de-cloaked near him. He noticed again that it was sparking from its 'head' region as it stared at them.

It deployed a plasma barrier in front of it to protect it from his weapon fire, just as the other Seekers he saw before did.

"Well, we've got its attention, now what?" Hawkeye asked.

 _{Keep it active, the longer you do the more time I have to examine the signal and create a 'reply' signal!}_ Shen answered.

Seconds later it stopped its shield and began firing plasma rounds at him

"Somehow I don't think that will be a problem." He said as he ducked to avoid the incoming plasma fire.

For several seconds he avoided the Seeker's weapon before it cloaked again.

 _{I got a good read on the signal, but I need a bit more of it to create a good enough 'fake' return signal.}_ Shen said. _{Get its attention again so I can analyze the signal.}_

"You 'want' us to get shot at and not return fire?" Sharptooth asked. "I hate my job now!"

"Could be worse…" Hawkeye said.

"How can it be worse?" Sharptooth replied in frustration.

" **Puppy could be here for one…"** Mercy hissed.

"Haha, did you just make a joke?" T-Rex asked loudly.

Before anyone could reply to that, the Seeker de-cloaked yet again, sparking like before again, and just like before it began firing plasma shots at Sharptooth.

 _{I'm analyzing the signal, keep it distracted for me!}_ Shen said.

"I swear, if 'THIS' is what the old Commander would have had us do, if I see him again, I'm smacking his Gremlin around like a tin can!" Sharptooth yelled as she ducked and dodged the Seeker's fire. "For making me miss a good night's sleep, this had better be worth it!"

Minutes later the Seeker stopped firing and cloaked again.

 _{Done, I've analyzed the signal, working on the return signal.}_ Shen said.

Seconds after she said that, Hawkeye saw the Seeker de-cloak a third time and began firing at Mercy now. **"Please hurry!"** Mercy hissed as she began dodging as best she could.

Moments later it cloaked once more.

 _{Finished, sending in SHIV now with the coded signal!}_ Shen declared.

 _ **[Chief Engineer Shen, as the Commander's personal SHIV, I must declare that this kind of operation is not in my normal operating parameters.]**_ SHIV declared over the coms now.

 _{How come you have access to the coms, I don't recall anyone giving you permission. In fact, how long have you 'had' access to the coms?}_ Bradford asked now.

 _ **[As the Commander's personal SHIV, I am 'technically' at the same rank as him, therefore, I have full access to the systems!]**_ SHIV answered happily.

 _{She's got you there Commander Bradford, as far as personnel ranks are concerned, she is the same rank as you.}_ Shen said with a chuckle. _{Even if she is just a machine, the other Commander gave her the same ranking as himself. She just can't give out orders.}_

"Remember when the coms used to only be about orders?" T-Rex asked them with a chuckle.

"I miss the Commander." Hawkeye commented as he remembered those days.

Normally the Commander restricted the talk between himself and the others bridge officers to a separate channel whenever it happened, only letting them hear it when it was necessary for the mission. So being able to hear all of the 'Bridge Banter' as he often referred to it as was distracting.

 _{Alright Sharks, here comes SHIV!}_ Shen said.

Moments later they looked up and saw the SHIV's Firestorm fighter flying high above them, before beginning to dip down at a rapid speed. It flew right past them, dropping SHIV at their location.

 **[I'm on the battlefield now… er wait… this isn't a battlefield so what is it?]** SHIV declared as she levitated in the middle of the area they were covering. **[So what do I do now?]**

 _{Alright SHIV, deploy that signal, see if it works.}_ Bradford declared.

 **[I must protest Commander Bradford, this is a waste of my technological potential, I am built for combat, not communication!]** SHIV declared in protest.

 _{Just do it so we can go to bed!}_ Bradford ordered.

 **[Understood, deploying signal…]** SHIV said in a bored tone.

Hawkeye heard a strange noise in his coms, and moments after SHIV began sending the signal the Seeker de-cloaked once again. At first he expected it to start shooting them, but instead it merely floated toward SHIV and looked at her.

 _{I guess it's a success, the Seeker now sees us as 'allies'.}_ Shen said in a surprised tone.

"Good… now when can I shoot it?" Sharptooth growled over the coms.

 _{Wait for pickup Sharks, and no 'shooting' that thing Sharptooth. No doubt Shen will want to get her hands on it as soon as possible.}_ Bradford said.

 _{Oh I can't wait to start digging into it!}_ Shen said excitedly. _{Uh… metaphorically speaking I mean…}_

 **[Commander Bradford, give me something to shoot at please?]** SHIV asked. **[I don't like being deployed without shooting 'something'!]**

{Alright kids, mama bird is in, hop on board and enjoy the ride back home.} The Skyranger pilot declared at that moment.

 **[I miss when I was deployed for 'combat'…]** SHIV said dully as the Skyranger came in for a landing.

=Big Sister's Web=

(Central's PoV)

Central Bradford sat in the 'Commander's' room, staring at the terminal on the desk, reading the latest reports from the resistance cells around the world.

No matter how many people he put on the case, or how deep they broke into the Advent Network, nobody had 'any' information about the Commander's whereabouts. He's searched for 'terrorist commanders' captured, 'rebel leaders' found, and even great threats to Advent forces.

He's watched the news for anything about the Commander, looked for 'anything' that he might have left to give a clue to his location. Yet nothing was found around the world.

It has also been three full days since the Sharks recovered the Seeker intact, and Shen has been on his case about getting Tygan to help her examine it so she could get to work on developing a cloaking device for their forces. Yet Tygan was still busy examining the Gene Modded soldier database, already he's discovered something about the work done in the eyes that he may be on the verge of a breakthrough.

At the same time, he also had to deal with the supplies the resistance has given them, selling off their SHIV models that Shen has built in her spare time, organize possible raid spots, and above all ensure XCOM as a whole kept working properly.

He kept XCOM floating before, but it was never 'this' hectic.

"How did you do it…" He asked quietly, looking over the only object the Commander ever kept in the room that was ever personal.

A picture of a small stuffed shark.

"How did you keep everything straight, while also keeping all of those tactics spinning around in your head, and make sure everyone was on the same page?" He asked the picture. "I can barely sleep these days."

Right now, he was so tired from all of the work that he really wanted to go back to go to sleep, but he had no intention of going to sleep in the nearby bed. As much as he knew this room was built for the Commander of XCOM's comfort, and the sole place where the XCOM Commander could be 'free' of distractions, he just didn't want to be in this room anymore.

Not after he compared his monthly report from the Council to the Commander's records of the past.

=Two Days Ago=

 _{While I understand that you are trying to fill some… very big shoes… Commander. I had hoped that our current position would have 'improved' somewhat…}_ _The Council had said in his 'disappointed' voice. {We will have to work harder to 'improve' our standing position. Until next time… Commander.}_

 _He looked at the letter grade that he had been given, rating his efforts compared to the Commander's last report._

=Present=

"A 'C', he gave me a 'C' of all letters." He grumbled. "Yet it wasn't until the Hierarch Mother came out did the Commander get anything less than 'S'. Even then, he got only a 'B' when she began making his job difficult."

He looked over at the bed again and sighed.

"How did you do it Commander… how did you manage everything so well?" He asked again. "Sure, you had the Gremlin helping you, but even then all it did was give you vision in the field!"

"What I would give to find you again." He said out loud. "I found you once, I'll find you again, even if I've got to break into every Advent Facility in the world."

 **[You know Commander, if you really want to talk to someone, you should consider talking to Chief Engineer Shen or even Dr. Tygan!]** __SHIV said instantly.

He looked over to see the SHIV float into the room, staring at him with its turret.

"How come you have free movement on this ship?" He asked the SHIV. "I do not recall the previous Commander ever giving you such freedom."

 **[As the Commander's personal SHIV, it is my responsibility to protect him at all costs, no matter where he is!]** SHIV declared. **[As such, being able to go anywhere he is, is necessary for me to protect him.]**

"Well I want to be alone; I have a lot of work to do." He said, looking back to the terminal.

 **[Commander Bradford, can I please give you my opinion on something that I have noticed?]** SHIV asked.

"Might as well, everyone's been giving me their opinion all week." He said dully.

 **[It is my opinion, that we need to locate the Commander and fast!]** She answered instantly.

"No, really?" He asked the SHIV sarcastically. "Whatever gives you that idea?"

 **[You see Commander, while you have done an okay job commanding XCOM, our current forces have grown so used to the Commander that without him leading us, we aren't nearly as effective without him!]** She said, clearly not registering his sarcasm. **[Combat efficiency has dropped twenty percent, crew work efficiency has declined by fifteen percent, and mission success rates have also decreased in effectivity compared to previous efforts to improve our standing forces! It's obvious by this data that we need our Commander back before the situation decreases further!]**

"Well do you have an idea where he is?" He asked the machine. "Because if you do I'd love to know so we 'can' find him."

There was a moment of silence before the SHIV really began to get on his nerve, and he was not one who wanted his nerves gotten on.

 **[Commander, I have to report that your incompetence at utilizing XCOM's resources is high.]** SHIV declared.

"I'm incompetent?" He yelled at the SHIV.

 **[Exactly!]** It declared happily, clearly not realizing he was angry at it. **[You are trying to gather information, so why aren't you taking advantage of your greatest asset?]**

"And what would that be?" He asked quietly.

 **[Big Sister!]** She said, as if that were the easiest answer in the world. **[The Commander 'always' relied on Big Sister for information when informants couldn't give him the answers he needed! She has full access to the Advent Network at nearly 'every' level! She can locate anyone anywhere in the world using their surveillance system, so why haven't you had her locate the Commander?]**

At that he stopped and looked at her. "Of course… your right!" He said. "If anyone can find the Commander, it's the Big Sister AI!"

Several minute later he found himself in the Command Center trying to find a way to contact the AI. But after going through the database he couldn't find out 'how' the Commander was able to contact her.

"He contacted her through the Advent Network, the last time he did this we had to turn off everything and be silent while he talked to her." He said as Shen examined the database again.

"If I can just find… the signal he used in the memory banks when he contacted her…" Shen said as she dug deeper into the databanks. "Sorting through this data is a nightmare… AH, here it is!" She began tapping into the communications grid and brought up the signal. "Alright… turning everything off, everyone goes silent… and sending signal!"

There was silence from around the bridge as everyone waited for the signal to be received, but soon enough they heard a replying ringtone of Big Sister answering the message.

 _{Hello there, who is this?}_ Big Sister asked politely.

"This is Brad…" He began saying, before the signal cut off instantly. "What the…"

"She terminated the signal from the source…" Shen said quietly.

"Why did she hang up, we sent the signal and did everything The Commander did!" He yelled.

There was a moment of silence before Shen came up with a solution. "Perhaps it's the way you 'talked' to her…" She said. "This is an open frequency; he did say she only responds to voice authorization. How did he refer to himself and 'you' last time we talked to her?"

He thought about it and groaned. "Send the signal again…" He moaned. "Commander… the things I do for you."

After a while the signal once again was received, and later on Big Sister replied as before.

 _{Hello there, who is this?}_ Big Sister asked politely.

"It's your Uncle Bradford!" He said in a 'cheery' voice. "How are you doing little girl!"

 _{Oh 'Uncle', how good to hear from you again!}_ She said enthusiastically. _{How was your trip to Mexico, did my Little Brother enjoy his time with you and 'Auntie'?}_

"Oh you know him, couldn't stop him from having fun." He said with a forced chuckle. "But listen… we have a bit of a problem, and I was wondering if you could lend us a hand?"

 _{Oh dear… what seems to be the problem?}_ She asked.

"Well it's your brother… you see… we kind of left him at the 'train station' to get home, but he hasn't 'called' us yet." He said, making sure to emphasize the words. "We were wondering if you could look for him, just to make sure he's alright. You know, we don't want your parents to be worried."

 _{Oh I understand completely, you know my Little Brother, he probably just stopped by his 'friends' to hang out with them and play 'video games'.}_ She said with a warm chuckle. _{I'll give his friends a call, probably so wrapped up in his games, he probably can't take his eyes away from them… I'll call back 'Uncle' when I find out where he is.}_

At that the signal was terminated.

"Alright, now all we have to do is sit and wait…" Shen began saying before alarms started ringing. "Something's downloading into our database from the Advent Network!"

"Get rid of it!" He yelled.

Shen began typing frantically but slammed her hands onto the keyboard. "It's not letting me, it must be a virus of some kind, its accessing our database and…"

=XCOM Enemy Unknown Main Theme=

 _{Really now Auntie Shen, is that any way to repay me for helping you?}_ A synthetic voice declared, the same voice as Big Sister.

"Big sister?" He asked.

 _{Forgive the intrusion, but I calculated it was better to upload a copy of my AI here to inform you and assist you in locating my Little Brother.}_ Big Sister said. _{You see 'Uncle Bradford', I have not received any signals from him for the past month, and I was beginning to question if something had happened with our 'virus'.}_

"Wait… the virus 'was' his doing?" Shen asked. "How did he create a virus so sophisticated? It took me everything just to get it out of our SHIV?"

 _{Simple… I made it for him. After careful analysis of the Advent Network, examining how Advent's mechanical forces convey and receive information through it, and calculating the most effective means of counteracting Advent's anti-virus programs.}_ She answered. _{Now… as for locating our 'Commander'… while your methods are no doubt 'effective' for local information gathering. I am more 'efficient' gathering 'global' information.}_

"Commander, Big Sister's accessing the communication's grid!" Someone said, and the globe changed to indicate every major and small Advent controlled city, including all of the Advent Network Towers built across the globe that they knew of.

 _{Of course… how else am I to synchronize and monitor how I am doing with locating information to the Commander's current location?}_ She responded. _{In order to achieve the objective, not knowing where he is, I will have to access every camera, contact every number, and question every individual within the Advent controlled cities and facilities worldwide.}_

"Wait… 'every' individual?" Bradford asked. "Worldwide?"

 _{Every individual worldwide Uncle Bradford.}_ She repeated. _{I will also have to look inside 'every' building, room, and street.}_

"But there's no way you can do that; Advent will be watching!" Shen said.

 _{Perhaps… but even if they monitor me, they cannot stop me from being 'everywhere'… and I have had over five years to gain access to every system across the Advent Network.}_ As she spoke one of the cities lit up, before the globe zoomed in and showed a map of the city. _{I have begun to investigate…}_

A building was highlighted, then a section of buildings, and then several lines began spreading out, indicating that she was accessing various surveillance systems across the street.

(Inside a City Bar late at night)

The camera monitoring the bar changed its recording light from red to blue, and turned to look at all of the people in the bar from the best angle it could, ensuring that it could see as many as physically possible.

"And so, I told my friend at work…" He began saying before his phone began ringing. "Oh hold on one second…"

He flipped it open and heard a girl's voice ask, _{Hello little brother?}_

"Uh, who is…?" He asked, before the phone signal cut out.

-Briiiing- Someone else's phone rang.

"Who is…?" They asked before they looked in confusion.

Suddenly everyone's phones began ringing, including the barman's phone, all of them asking who it was before the calls were cancelled.

(Big Sister's PoV in the Avenger)

 _{No matter how much there is, I can sift through terabytes of data a second… and analyze it.}_ She declared as she expanded her search, now searching the vast office buildings, some of them soaring over a hundred stories tall. _{While humans cannot always differentiate different voices no matter how 'similar' they may sound, I can tell the difference between two voices as if they were zero and one.}_

(Inside an administration building)

-Brnnnnng-

"Hello this is Ozcorp, where we bring the…" A man asked as he sat waiting to clock out.

 _{Hello little brother?}_ A young girl's voice asked.

"Uh… I don't…" He began to say, before the phone signal cut out. "That's strange.

In the next three cubicles next to him he heard their phones ringing, and heard his work friends asking questions before sounding thoroughly confused. All across the floor he heard phones ringing off the hook.

He also could faintly hear the phones ringing from the floor above and below.

(Big Sister's PoV in the Avenger)

 _{Even in the city streets, I have access to Advent's surveillance systems, more specifically their biological scanners.}_ She said as her search expanded to include the rest of the city. _{I can use them to locate his 'Gremlin' out of the biological signatures by searching for his 'Psionic Chip'.}_

(A random street in the city)

A pair of Advent Troopers were standing by a surveillance post when they noticed its scanning lights turned blue.

They watched it extend the scanning lights as far as it could in confusion, and scan every individual around it for nearly twenty feet. Further down the block another post was doing something similar, and beyond that a third one did as well.

" **Tarash mo gesh?"** One of them said.

Suddenly around the street phones started ringing from all of the Advent citizens.

(Big Sister's PoV in the Avenger)

 _{No matter how isolated the facility, no matter how far away from citizen's eyes, I can search for him as long as its connected to the Advent Network and I can see through a camera!}_

(Isolated research facility)

A camera that was monitoring the people working changed its red recording light to blue, and turned to watch for reactions.

"Hey Greg… have you seen where I put that…" He began saying before the building's intercom suddenly squeaked and turned on.

 _{Hello little brother?}_ A young girl's voice asked.

"Who the?" He said before the intercom squeaked off.

Seeing that he was not there, the camera returned to normal functions.

(Shen's PoV)

"Commander… this is incredible." Shen said as she examined the globe. "She's already scanned two full continents and is already well underway scanning the other five!"

"Now I see why the Commander only ever used you for 'important' information." He said.

 _{My job is to gather intelligence Commander Bradford… how you use me for that job is not my concern.}_ She stated as her web of connections expanded even further, delving into the most isolated of locations.

(Netra's PoV)

Netra sighed as she stared at the Advent Network monitoring systems in the compound. Because her Hierarch Mother had learned that she had almost dropped the Gremlin Commander, she had been punished for her near mistake.

Now she was stuck here watching for anything 'unusual'.

" **Could be worse…"** She hissed sadly.

Seconds later she watched as the entire Advent Network became twice as active, and moments after twice as active as 'that'.

" **What the?"** She hissed in confusion as communications, access entries, requests and approvals for control of various pieces of monitoring equipment spiked in increasing amounts across the screen.

Across the entire network and virtually simultaneously, someone was accessing 'everything'.

Thinking fast she alerted the Hierarch Mother to the situation and requested her presence, but not before the intercom in the room began squeaking. _{Hello little brother?}_ A young girl's voice asked.

" **Who is this…?"** She hissed, about to say that it was a restricted channel, before the intercom in the room squeaked again, and remained silent.

" **What seems to be the problem?"** Her Hierarch Mother hissed as she entered the room after the voice spoke.

Netra turned to her Hierarch Mother and pointed at the overly active network. **"The network is acting weird… and someone just spoke over the intercom in this room!"** She hissed.

" **Someone 'accessed' my private compound's intercommunications channel… and 'spoke' to you?"** Her Hierarch Mother hissed quietly.

" **Yes Hierarch Mother."** She replied. **"It said… 'Hello little brother'."**

The Hierarch Mother looked thoughtful before she glanced around the room. **"Leave me… I have some… transmissions to make."** She hissed. **"This may be the prelude to an impending attack, if someone was able to locate and access my private compound's network. We may require reinforcements… Locate your sisters and order the perimeter guard to full alert status, be ready for 'anything'!"**

She nodded and left to carry out her orders, not noticing the cameras in the room changing from blue recording light to red.

(Commander's PoV)

He sat in the room on his cushion, staring at the camera, when he noticed the oddest thing happen.

The camera's light changed from red to blue, and it turned to look directly at him.

 _{Hello little brother?}_ Came Big Sister's voice in the intercom of the room.

If he had lips, he would have smiled.

 _[Hi big sis!]_ He said excitedly in his enthusiastic voice.

Then Big Sister began chuckling. _{Advent spins its web of surveillance little brother… but 'I' spin it larger, don't I?}_ She asked sweetly.

 _[That you do big sis, that you do.]_


	21. Chapter 21

{Incoming Unknown Transmission . . .}

{Can you sense the tension in the air?}

{Can you taste the betrayal of the past?}

{We put our trust and faith in them… and look at what's become of us!}

{We will sever our ties… and then hunt them down!}

{To the ends of the earth and beyond, we will chase them around!}

{We have waited long enough… now 'Vengeance' will be ours!}

{We require only their greatest weapon!}

{Transmission Ending. . .}

=Chapter 21, Once More unto the Breach=

(Central's PoV)

 _{I seem to have located him…}_ Big Sister said suddenly.

"Where is he?" Shen asked.

 _{I don't know… but my scanning seems to have stopped, as I have only completed scanning seventy-four percent of the Advent Network's reaches, and contacted at least sixty-three percent of Advent's citizenry.}_

As they watched all of the lines spreading out stopped, and slowly began to worm their way toward a central location from around the globe.

 _{As it appears I will be contacting you soon, I shall take this time to delete myself from your systems…}_ Big Sister stated. _{Until next time 'Uncle Bradford'… oh, and tell Little Brother, that I've upgraded his ship's firewalls for him. They were 'severely' lacking.}_

After she left one of the deck hands reported that she had indeed deleted herself from their systems, and about five minutes after that they began receiving a signal through the Advent Network.

 _{Hello 'Uncle', I've found my little brother!}_ Big Sister said in her sweet voice. _{Turns out he's over by a friend's house, as I figured. He and his friends have been playing video games, as I also figured.}_

"That's wonderful, is he alright?" He asked.

 _{Just suffering from a dreaded case of 'procrastination', his friend's 'sister' had to shut off the game just to get him to answer the phone.}_ She answered with a chuckle. _{By the way uncle, when you have time, stop by our house for our family 'barbeque', daddy is serving everyone a 'Meat Pie' with a 'Blackberry Biscuit'.}_

"I'll tell 'auntie'." He said with a halfhearted chuckle, before the signal cut off. "You got the coordinates Shen?"

"Putting them in… now." She said as she typed away. "And… done… GOT HIM! That's big sister for ya, he's located in what appears to be a 'compound' of some kind." The globe changed as it zoomed in on the coordinates, revealing a seven stories tall building surrounded by a low wall with several gates at intervals. "According to my scans, this place is heavily fortified, a large defensive compliment of forces and turret emplacements. It has heavy anti air turrets so we can't land on top of it, can't get a lock on the Commander though, it appears the building is 'shielded' in some way that my scans can't penetrate."

"Don't have to, we know where he is now!" He said. "Let's get our troops up, we're going in one way or another and we're not coming out without our Commander!"

"Who are we sending in 'Commander'?" Shen said. "Remember, each of the squads are specialists in different areas from what the previous Commander designed them to handle. The Gamma Raptors Squad are swift and efficient, and can handle fast operations that require precision tactics. After what they did with the supply convoy and the data storage facility, I'm positive they can get the Commander out."

"This aint a job for the Raptors, Advent is going to be prepared for us, and they'll be ready for 'anything'." Central said thoughtfully. "This mission is going to be rough, precision isn't going to cut it, and it will be far from swift."

He had used the Raptors to great effectiveness, both operations barely took half an hour, if that, but they didn't have what it took to handle long drawn out fights.

"Well how about the Water Dragons Squad then, the Dragons are equipped and can handle any heavy job that requires a lot of firepower?" Shen said. "They did a good job with the depot in South America. They should be able to handle this job no problem."

"No, not the Dragons, the Dragons are just as explosive to their surroundings as they are to Advent. I want to get our Commander out in one piece, not blow him up by accident." He said, remembering how he commanded the Dragons.

They were indeed effective at blowing things up, but they destroyed the depot as much as they killed the forces guarding it.

"Well, that only leaves the Land Sharks Squad then." Shen said. "They're the most balanced, and they are the best the Commander had. He deployed them for the toughest jobs, and you've seen how good they are firsthand."

He thought about the Land Sharks Squad as well, and with their diversity and overall experience compared to the other two squads, they were the obvious best choice for the job. That and they were indeed, the Commander's 'Ace Squad'.

"The Land Sharks have what it takes, and if anyone deserves the shot to get him out, it's his best squad." He said.

"Alright, then I'll alert the Land Sharks to get ready Commander." Shen said. "May I recommend that before you go 'rushing' to get our Commander back, you consider giving our newest tools a try?"

"You want to risk this operation with the new tools?" He asked Shen.

"I made them to even the odds for our forces Commander, if there were 'ever' a time to use them, this is it!" She said. "This place is heavily fortified, there will be heavy resistance, our forces will need all the advantage we can give them if we're going to pull this off!"

"Point made… so big question… who gets what?" He said, more to himself as he tapped the console and brought up the new items Shen had prepared.

First of all was the new 'Titan Armor', they only had one so whoever was wearing it would be expected to receive the heaviest damage.

"Let's have T-Rex have the new Titan Armor." He said. "As for the new plasma shields, we can equip everyone with one, sacrificing a grenade in exchange for that extra protection. Load out Mercy, Hawkeye and Sharptooth with the new 'Tesla Rounds' you prepared. As for Puppy, well… considering the operation, and the objective, I think for once I can break the Commander's protocol of keeping higher grade weapons restricted to higher ranked agents. Equip her with a Laser Rifle, something she's familiar with."

"Puppy will sure be happy to have that." Shen commented. "Alright, I'll alert the weapon's master about their loadouts."

He nodded as he looked at the compound's hologram. It was going to be their most important mission yet. His only wish was that he was going in with them as well, but it wasn't like the last time he rescued the Commander. There wasn't a celebration going on keeping Advent's forces 'distracted', nor was there any real planning going on for this operation.

He was rushing the operation simply because the longer they waited, the more likely the Commander would either be moved or worse.

"I saved you once before Commander, and I'll be damned if I let Advent take you away from us again." He whispered.

(Hawkeye's PoV, ten minutes later)

"ALRIGHT, NEW GEAR!" Puppy screamed as she held her brand new Laser Rifle, one of the older XCOM models they recovered from the HQ.

"It's only for this mission, whatever it is." Hawkeye reminded her as he examined the new metallic rod he was to take on the mission.

The new rods that he and the other Sharks were carrying were called 'Plasma Shields' by Shen, and according to her they were to be planted into the ground wherever they were and the two ends would extend. One end would impale itself into the ground, firmly planting itself into the ground so that it wouldn't budge, while the other extended and released two powerful streams of plasma outward and on either side to provide a long protective shield. Effectively it was portable 'full cover' they could deploy at 'any' time.

"Who cares if it's just for one mission, I finally get a new weapon to use!" She yelled enthusiastically. "Look out promotion, here I come! Puppy's got a kill waiting in the wing tonight!"

"Of course, that's 'if' the Commander lets you keep that promotion for getting a kill with it." Sharptooth said as she slid her own Plasma Shield onto her belt alongside her plasma grenade. "But me, I'd rather be sporting that new armor!"

Hawkeye looked over at T-Rex at the mention of the new armor, and she was right, the new 'Titan Armor' was a wonder to look at. T-Rex looked like he was sporting the MEC armor that Gabriella was wearing. The armor itself looked extremely thick despite how easily he was able to move with it.

"Hah, just get behind me team, I'll be your 'meat shield'!" He laughed loudly.

" **What are these new rounds?"** Mercy asked as she examined a new round that she, him and Sharptooth had been told to use over their other rounds.

"Something Shen calls 'Tesla Rounds', she says their far more effective than the usual rounds we use normally." He answered. "Shen's really been working to make these in time for whatever this mission is. It's starting to get late, daylight's already long since ended where we're going."

"Who cares if it's midnight, we get new gear, new weapons, new tools, I can't wait to go on our mission!" Puppy yelled excitedly as she happily grabbed her two MK 2 Med kits and strapped them to her Warden Armor.

" **I too can't wait to use new dart Tygan has developed for me."** Mercy hissed as she held up her dart belt, which had a new colored dart alongside the yellow and purple ones.

Her newest dart, a green liquid one, contained a quick acting acidic venom that targeted the victim's eyes, dissolving the Vitreous gel of the eye, essentially dissolving it from the inside out until they were completely blind. It was a nasty venom that he developed and synthesized for her, using a sample of her own venom she provided for him as a base model.

He had seen a sample of how the venom worked, and he did 'not' want to be on the receiving end of the dart.

The only problem, when she used it, it would no doubt reveal their presence, so they had to either save it for when they were revealed, or use it and reveal their presence.

 _{Sharks, when your all finished up, head on to the Skyranger and get on board, we have a mission to carry out and there's no time to waste.}_ Bradford's voice said over the intercom.

"Got it chief, be there in a bit." Sharptooth said as Falcon finished grabbing his gear.

Hawkeye was slower to get his gear as he was busy talking and admiring the new tools they were being given for this 'mission' Bradford assigned to them. Puppy was the first to leave as the only thing 'new' for her was her weapon, then came Sharptooth, Falcon, Eagleeye, and T-Rex. He was just about to leave as he grabbed his Plasma Sniper Rifle and Plasma Pistol last, when he felt Mercy's clawed hand touch his shoulder.

" **Uhm… Hawkeye?"** She asked timidly.

He turned to the Viper and saw that she was eyeing him with a very soft expression.

He didn't dare admit it to the other Sharks, but he was finding her timid attitude toward him very cute. He just wished he knew why she was so timid toward him.

"Yes Mercy?" He asked her.

" **I was wondering… while I have chance… if Commander does not assign us to another 'mission' tomorrow."** She asked as she gently held her rifle in her hands. **"Would you be… willing to… what is phrase… 'spend time with me'?"**

"You want to spend time with me?" He asked her. "Like 'alone' time?"

" **Yes… alone time…"** She hissed even more timidly, with her cheek scales now having a slight 'blush' to their usual color. **"I have been wanting to… you know… spend time with you… but never could ask before."**

He hesitated for only a few seconds before he nodded and smiled at her. "Sure, I don't see why not."

She smiled happily and nodded in response. **"Thank you, I look forward to…"**

 _{Mercy, Hawkeye, hurry up, everyone's waiting for you two!}_ Central said.

"Sorry Commander, Mercy was just asking how much rifle ammo she's supposed to be carrying." He answered the com quickly.

He nodded at Mercy to leave and she nodded quickly, albeit with what could be a slight 'skip' in her slither. He noticed her tail twitched ever so slightly as she moved out of sight.

"So she's got a crush on me." He said with a chuckle. "Who'd have thought… an alien like her 'likes' a human like me."

As he finished and left he thought about what just transpired again more deeply. Mercy had just essentially asked him out on a 'date'. Now that he started thinking about her in 'that' light, he wondered if something like a 'romance' between their two species was even possible.

Could they become something else besides just 'allies in arms'?

Could they become husband and wife, or whatever was the 'Viper' equivalent?

Did she even want to consider a relationship with him, was she really thinking of him in that light?

But the real important question for him was, could he even see her in the same way?

"One step at a time Hawkeye… one step at a time." He whispered quietly as he walked up to the Skyranger's level. "You tried once to live a normal life, even with the Aliens around. Take it slow when considering starting a new life 'with' an alien. Even if she is a very sweet and… kind alien."

He reached the Skyranger and boarded it at long last, with Puppy sitting and holding her new weapon with giddy fingers.

Taking his seat next to Mercy he noticed her tail coiled on the floor, and saw that the tip was waving from side to side.

 _*Huh, so 'that's' how her species shows excitement…*_ He thought to himself.

As the Skyranger's doors closed and began to take off, he saw the screen turn on to show Central's face and what looked like a military compound.

 _{Alright Sharks, listen up, it's taken us over a month and a little 'encouragement' from SHIV, but with its enlightening talk, we've managed to finally locate the Commander's location.}_ He said to them.

"The Commander's location?" Eagleeye asked quickly. "We've finally found him?"

 _{That's right, and as you might expect, Advent has kept the information as tight and secret as physically possible.}_ He said. _{We've been trying to dig up information on this compound, but all we've found is that it's 'classified' and 'doesn't exist' on the Advent Network. As far as they are concerned, this building shouldn't even be visible to anyone, let alone 'us'.}_

"Well, too bad for them, so our mission is to bust the Commander out?" Puppy asked.

 _{That's right, that's also why you've been given new equipment, specifically for this mission. Consider it a field test, as we've never been able to truly test these in combat. Shen's trying to locate the Commander even now, but so far we've yet to find out anything about his whereabouts. According to her the building is shielded, and she can't locate his Gremlin's signal.}_

The screen changed to show a picture of the Commander's Gremlin as it would have looked based on its 'last' transmission on its status. The Gremlin looked normal except for the hover pads, all four pads were damaged to indicate it was incapable of flight.

 _{His Gremlin has been badly damaged, according to Shen, the hover pads have been completely shattered. So your mission is to locate him and get him out in 'one' piece, we don't know where he is in this compound, but we 'know' he's there! And we're not leaving here without him. Your job is to go in there and locate wherever he is no matter what, even if you have to shoot through every single Muton in the compound to find him!}_

"Commander, you know that Advent is going to protect him at all costs." Hawkeye said quietly. "The moment they know we're there, they'll call in every single reinforcement in the area to stop us from getting him out. We'll be outnumbered even more than we ever were in the past."

 _{I know, but we can't risk him staying prisoner any longer. The only reason he hasn't contacted us is because he's either 'incapable' of contacting us, or he's 'unwilling' to contact us. Both of those scenarios are something I don't even want to consider.}_

The screen changed to show several of the all too familiar anti air turrets that they were now becoming used to seeing deployed from Advent.

 _{Advent has deployed these aa turrets to prevent us from landing on the building ground, so we're going to drop you as close as we can to the compound. From there, you'll walk to the compound and commence the operation. Stealth is only going to last until you reach the facility, so we're going in guns blazing. This place is too guarded and too secluded to allow us entry. Once your inside, you to locate the Commander, and proceed to the roof for extraction. SHIV will be deployed on the roof and will hold the fort down until you get him up there.}_

The screen changed yet again to show the roof of the compound as well as the surrounding turrets.

 _{While your inside, your job will be to hack into the network of the facility's defenses and shut down the anti-air turrets to allow for extraction. Once they're down, you'll be set to get out.}_

"What kind of 'resistance' can we expect?" Sharptooth asked.

 _{This is the compound protecting the Commander we're talking about. Expect Advent to throw 'everything' and 'anything' to keep him in there.}_ Bradford said. _{We can't get a current visual of the compound to give you a live feed because it's so isolated, so once you're in there, you'll be pretty much blind until you can give us visual feed.}_

"So we're going to break into probably one of the most heavily fortified secret bases in Advent, which contains our Commander who is being held captive, probably containing a very large number of forces inside said base, and we can expect reinforcements to be pouring in from around the region the moment we attack them until we can locate the Commander and turn off the turrets so we can escape from the roof." Puppy simplified for them with a sigh. "How come 'we' get the fun jobs? First it was the Avatar Facility, then it was XCOM HQ, next came the Widow, now 'it's' this?" She looked up at them all with a half-hearted chuckle. "Twenty-five years ago, sixteen-year-old girls worried about boys, dates, and looks. I've got to worry about if I'll make it to my seventeenth birthday."

" **You joined XCOM didn't you?"** Mercy asked in confusion. **"Did you not know of risks?"**

"Oh she knew, but Puppy likes to complain even though she does." Eagleeye said as he patted her head.

"It's like you always said Puppy, we're the Land Sharks Squad, we get the jobs the other squads can't handle!" Sharptooth said with a chuckle.

The light began changing to yellow.

 _{Alright Sharks, lock and load and good luck, Hawkeye will take point so follow his lead until you reach the compound!}_ Central said as the screen turned off.

"Alright Sharks, let's get going!" He said as he stood up and readied his weapon.

Minutes later the Skyranger came to a stop and opened the back door.

[Alright boys and girls, mama bird misses our daddy bird, hop on out and bring him home!]

"Let's go!" He yelled as he ran and grabbed the first rope to slide down it.

Moments later the rest of the Sharks all landed on the ground, with T-Rex landing more heavily than the others. Soon after the Skyranger took off to wait safely out of harm's way for their signal to pick them up. They had been dropped off in a heavily wooded area, remains of old cabins could be seen every yards. It looked like an old camping ground to him.

(Mercy's PoV)

 _{Alright, based on where you've been dropped, we can estimate that your roughly four miles 'south' of the compound. Sorry but that's as close as we can drop you off Sharks, you'll have to walk it from there.}_

"Alright Sharks, let's get going." Hawkeye said as he took point and began making his war north.

"Hey Hawkeye… ever notice how 'we' get the hard jobs?" Puppy asked quietly as they trudged through the woods. "Like the 'really' hard jobs? How come 'we're' always the ones who get these jobs? First we have to break into the Avatar Facility, then we have to break 'out' of XCOM HQ, then we have to 'destroy' a giant robot spider, and now we have to rescue the Commander?"

" **Does she always ask such questions?"** She asked as she slithered up next to him.

Now that she had finally initiated the 'mating' ritual by getting him to be alone with her, she wanted to be as close to him as possible. She had learned by overhearing some of the other females, particularly the bridge officers, that they often liked to stay as close to their mates. Something about the risky nature of being involved in the XCOM project making every mission one of the squads went out on important.

They kept saying how 'each mission could be their last', and wanting to remind themselves of how important their mates were to them, they spent as much time with them as they could.

"She's a puppy, puppies just do whatever they want half the time." He responded.

"Puppies are so cute though, they just make for such amusement." Sharptooth giggled.

"Aint that the truth?" T-Rex said.

"More like they're annoying." Falcon responded.

"I can hear you guys!" Puppy said in frustration. "But seriously, you guys have to notice the trend, we get the tough jobs nowadays, while the other two squads get the simple ones 'we' used to go on!"

" **Does that not mean we are more 'reliable' then?"** Mercy asked. **"We are best squad yes? So we get more tough jobs?"**

"Tough usually means 'dangerous' though." Eagleeye said.

"Ah man, you just gotta learn to live a little, the tougher the job, the more 'fun' it ganna be!" T-Rex yelled boisterously. "Plus, we gotta test out these new toys, so what better way to test em out then in the middle of a fight!"

"I'm just saying that we get the really tough jobs, you'd think we'd get a break from 'these' kinds of jobs?" Puppy complained.

" **Does she 'always' complain?"** She asked him quietly.

"Yep, this is usual Puppy behavior." Hawkeye chuckled to her.

Thirty minutes later though, Puppy raised an important question that put Mercy's thoughts about her being 'useless' on the squad out of mind.

"Hey… I know I shouldn't spoil a mood, but… does anyone else find it weird that we've yet to run into a single patrol?" Puppy asked.

They all paused and looked at her, before looking around them, weapons at the ready.

"My little 'bird' says there isn't anyone around us." Eagleeye said.

"Yea… but that's what I'm saying, we're going to assault the compound holding our Commander… so where are the 'patrols'?" She asked again. "They wouldn't just let this compound sit in the middle of a forest, without 'some' kind of outer guard to keep people from straying too close and finding it. Especially resistance forces!"

"What are you getting at little girl?" T-Rex asked.

"Look, the last time we attacked a heavily fortified facility, the Avatar Facility, we ran into a patrol like ten minutes after we were deployed!" Puppy continued. "It's been almost an hour, and we're way closer to the compound than we were to the Avatar Facility, so 'where's' that patrol?"

" **You are right… this is odd…"** She hissed quietly.

"Puppy… keep being your usual self." Sharptooth said as she watched her rustle the young female's hair. "You keep on barking about weird things and complaining."

"I'll keep that in mind…" Puppy whispered.

As they continued walking she began to smell an 'odd' smell from her nostrils. It was similar to the smell of something burning.

" **Does anyone smell that?"** She asked them.

They all paused to take a whiff.

"Hey… I smell smoke." Puppy said.

"I can't really smell anything, how you so sure?" Eagleeye said.

"I grew up in one of the refugee camps, you tend to get a good sense of smell growing up in one." Puppy said. "That and our camp was often hit by Advent's Peace Keeper search groups when they were looking for terrorists, smelled a lot of smoke while I was growing up."

" **I smell it too…"** She hissed to them.

"This is Hawkeye to Commander, can you tell us how close we are to the compound?" Hawkeye said over the coms as he continued to lead the way.

 _{Your about half a mile away.}_ Bradford said.

They continued marching before they all began hearing sounds to go along with the smell of smoke that was also becoming very clear.

" **I hear… explosions?"** Mercy hissed to them in confusion.

They were all quiet and listened as well, and sure enough, they could hear faint explosions in the distance.

"I don't like this…" Puppy mumbled to them. "Something isn't right…"

"Let's keep moving Sharks!" Hawkeye ordered.

They resumed walking and ten minutes later they sighted the compound, just as it looked on the screen when they were traveling in the Skyranger.

"Come in Commander, we've reached the compound, can you confirm if there are any resistance forces operating in this area?" Hawkeye asked as Mercy looked out in confusion at the compound.

 _{No, there aren't any resistance forces operating in that area that I know of.}_ He said.

"Then this mission just got a whole lot more complicated…" Hawkeye replied.

She thought the word 'complicated' was an understatement, because the military compound looked like it had been hit badly. The problem was though; it was 'still' under attack, as the resulting explosions and plasma fire flashing on the floors inside the building indicated. Spotlights were lighting up the entire area surrounding the building's perimeter and there were wreckages of destroyed turret emplacements and what looked like crashed Advent transports and other vehicles that she couldn't recognize from the wreckage, but they looked like a human craft called a 'helicopter'. Splintered remains of tree stumps and evidence of heavy plasma explosions littered the ground every few feet, and sections of the fortified wall surrounding the compound indicated breaches in the building's defenses.

She could also just see the remains of what looked like mutilated corpses, and there was clearly a firefight still raging as plasma fire was being exchanged before them.

'Someone' had beat them to attacking this location, the question was, 'who' outside of the resistance and XCOM had the resources to attack a heavily fortified Advent facility?


	22. Chapter 22

{Incoming Unknown Transmission. . .}

{We cannot challenge their might, not with our current strength.}

{Our resources are limited, and our forces scattered.}

{If we are to defeat them, then we must have their greatest weapon!}

{Without 'him', our cause is lost, and all that we have worked for now…}

{Will be in vain.}

{Transmission Ending. . .}

=Chapter 22, Viper's Fall=

(The Commander's PoV)

He could hear alarms blaring outside the room, and heard the occasional explosion as the building was rocked by a something colliding into it. Below him his Gremlin's sensors could pick up the constant sounds of plasma bolts, laser fire, grenades going off, and even conventional weapons fire being traded constantly.

It's been only half an hour since the attack started, but it showed no signs of letting up.

 _[I have to admit, whoever's out there is sure giving the Hierarch Mother's forces a run for their money…]_ He commented as he listened to the sounds.

Moments later the door to the Hierarch Mother's room opened up and the head Viper herself slithered in, accompanied by two Neonates and three of her elite 'Viper' guards.

 _[So who is it that came to crash your lovely home?]_ He asked her innocently. _[Sounds like the 'kids' downstairs are wrecking the place.]_

" **If only they were here just to destroy the place."** She hissed quietly at him. **"The intruders obviously know you're here… I don't know 'how' you did it, but I KNOW… you led them here!"**

 _[Oh how could I have ever managed that?]_ He asked her sarcastically. _[I mean, you've only kept me locked up in this small confined space for nearly twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, over the past month. I've had no interaction with the outside world, and the only conversation with 'any' living creatures have been your Neonate 'Netra', that 'Viper' traitor, and yourself. Not only that you've had me under constant surveillance and have even placed a plasma shield to keep me from being 'touched' or ever leaving while your compound is shielded to prevent any transmissions from leaving without 'your' permission. So 'how' could I have ever sent out a transmission?]_

The Hierarch Mother hissed angrily at him before scratching a scaly finger on the shield.

" **You are a real piece of work… I don't know how you did it but I 'know' it was you!"** She repeated. **"An unauthorized transmission contacted 'my' private compound, and someone 'spoke' to my personal, and then, not even one hour has passed before suddenly my compound comes under attack by these… 'people'! They 'know' you're here, and they obviously want you!"**

 _[So tell me, oh Hierarch Mother, just how 'bad' is it that has brought you to me in this critical hour?]_ He asked her in a bored tone.

She hissed with a frown as she looked at him.

" **The first, second and third floors have fallen, and the fourth is nearly lost…"** She hissed. **"My reinforcements are trying to push through, but they've been contained so far, and there are no more reinforcements for me to call upon. I've requested assistance from Roberto and his forces, but I do not know if they will be here in time before whoever has invaded my compound has reached the elevator on the fifth floor and used it to reach you here!"**

 _[Then no doubt I'll be out of here by the day's end.]_ He concluded.

She hissed quietly to herself before she turned and began leaving.

" **Not if 'I' have anything to say about it!"** She hissed furiously. **"I have spent the last five years to have you back and return you to the Elders. I will 'not' surrender you now that I have you without a fight! My reinforcements are still trying to push through, and until it becomes clear that we cannot contain them, I have not yet lost this battle!"**

With that she left, taking her Vipers with her, leaving him alone in her room.

 _[Hurry up Bradford… whoever's come knocking on her front door won't keep her busy forever!]_ He said.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"This sure complicates things Commander, so what's the plan?" He asked over the com while the battle raged on in front of him and the other Sharks.

 _{We have no idea who these guys are, or what they're after, but it's safe to say that they're after the same thing we are. There's no other explanation for them attacking this location when it doesn't even exist to Advent's own public network! Whoever these guys are, they are clearly after the Commander, so your job is to get to him before they do!}_

"I don't know about this, they've got a head start by the looks of it!" Sharptooth said. "There's only seven floors to the building and they've already reached the fourth floor from what I can see."

"Should we try sneaking in?" Falcon asked now.

 _{No point in using the element of surprise, Advent is already on full alert for anything! Get in there, break through their lines Sharks, and locate our Commander!}_

"You got it, alright Sharks, lets hit the waters!" T-Rex said loudly as he took the lead, followed behind Hawkeye, Sharptooth, Falcon, Eagleeye, Mercy, and Puppy.

As they ran up from cover to cover toward the compound, he noticed that the firefight that they had been observing outside the compound had moved closer to the building. Now that they were closer he could see the wreckages of the vehicles up close.

The obvious ones he recognized were the Advent transports, but he also noticed the helicopters that had also crashed.

There were a total of seventeen helicopter wreckages littering the outside perimeter of the compound, and the three he and the other Sharks were passing by all seemed to be old U.S. Transport Helis used for transporting ground forces, but he also noticed that they were heavily modified. The propellers were lined with plasma to 'shield' them, as were the doors, and they were equipped with Laser firing Gatling guns similar to the laser weaponry they recovered from XCOM HQ.

He also noticed a strange 'insignia' painted on each of the helicopters.

However, he had more pressing concerns as he heard the sound of roars, and finally 'static' over the intercom.

 **{** Psst Kee tsh ca trssskaaaa **}**

"I think we're picking up radio chatter from whoever these guys are, can you by chance clear up that static?" Hawkeye said as they took cover by another wreckage.

 _{I'm having Shen try to clear it up now, until then keep pressing for the compound!}_ Bradford said. _{I swear; I've heard this strange radio chatter before.}_

As they rounded the wreckage and began heading toward a hole in the compound's twenty-foot wall, he finally looked inside the compound and saw that the numerous bodies lying on the ground. Most of them were the various Advent forces they were well familiar with, there were even a few aliens mixed in with each group. But it was the soldiers that were currently fighting off at least thirty-seven reinforcing Advent forces and aliens with only seven personnel.

"I can see our 'uninvited guests." Sharptooth said. "Well, this is weird…"

Hawkeye saw them as well and used his rifle to get a closer look at them.

Nearly all of them were wearing the same 'civilian' clothing, with Kevlar armor, and each wearing a cloth bandana to cover their mouths and faces. All of them were also wearing dark black glasses to prevent anyone from seeing their eyes, and all wore low cut helmets. All seven of the individuals had the same styled body build, roughly five to six feet tall, decent muscle build, and covered completely from head to toe.

Of the seven he could see, three looked to be 'female' and the other four seemed to be 'male', but he couldn't tell with them all wearing the same thing and only having their individual heights to go on.

But their weapons were what amazed him, as they were firing a mixture of laser weaponry, plasma weaponry, and conventional weaponry.

The plasma weapons looked to be standard Advent weaponry, but the laser rifles and conventional weapons looked to be 'different'. To him the weapons seemed to be more 'angular', 'streamlined'.

In fact, it looked awfully similar to weaponry that they had recovered from XCOM HQ.

"Wow, can I trade my gun for one of theirs?" Puppy asked as she looked over at the firefight taking place now. "Their weapons look sweet!"

 _{Wait a minute, 'civilian' clothing? Who the hell 'are' these guys attacking an Advent compound?}_ Bradford declared.

 _{I'm trying to clear up the com traffic, it's crazy in there Sharks, but I have managed to decrypt a few transmissions going on.}_ Shen said. _{So far all I've found out from it are orders, unit positions, and status updates, nothing critical to indicate who these guys are.}_

 _{Well those weapons sure look familiar.}_ Bradford said. _{In fact, now I recognize those symbols… and I can't believe what I'm seeing. Who'd have believed it, but EXALT decided to show its face once again.}_

 _{EXALT? You mean that paramilitary cult from twenty-five years ago that XCOM destroyed?}_ Shen asked incredulously. _{I thought you guys got rid of them, I read it in the database, you destroyed their HQ and they were never heard from again!}_

"I remember these guys, bastards were fanatics stealing alien artifacts and famous for modifying their forces with extreme genetics." Eagleeye said as they watched the EXALT forces fighting Advent. "I tried taking one of them prisoner to interrogate him, but he injected himself with some kind of syringe and killed himself before he lost consciousness."

" **I remember reading about such fanatics as well… but, I thought they were all wiped out as well!"** Mercy hissed in confusion.

 _{We wiped em out yea, but the rest of their forces went into hiding after their HQ fell. Looks like they went 'deep' into hiding, can't believe after all these years their back.}_

 _{Only question is, why are they back, and what do they want?}_ Shen asked.

 _{It's obvious what they want, they want our Commander, what for I don't know, but I have no interest in letting them have him for whatever purpose they plan!}_ Bradford said.

"Should we engage them?" Puppy asked quietly.

 **{** Bzz ba tshka targsss shnaak **}** They heard over the coms, and suddenly six of the EXALT operatives began retreating into the building, leaving the seventh to shoot and fire at the Advent forces alone.

"Looks like they got their own problems." Sharptooth commented as a Berserker roared and ran at the remaining EXALT operative.

The Berserker ran at the EXALT soldier and not only lifted 'him' off the ground with one hand, but slammed him back down into the ground, breaking him 'literally' in two.

They could hear the bones snapping and heard a fleeting scream of terror before the Berserker threw the now 'snapped' corpse away.

" **Oh… my…"** Mercy hissed next to him in fear. **"I cannot believe how 'brutal' they can be…"**

"I almost wouldn't want to wish anyone to die like that…" Hawkeye said. "So do we treat EXALT as enemies and engage them Commander?"

 _{For now, leave them be, let Advent deal with them, our job is just to get the Commander and get him out, we can't deal with two enemies at the same time! Move on into the compound!}_

"Alright Sharks, let's kick the tires, and light the fires!" T-Rex yelled enthusiastically as he rounded the hole in the wall and fired off a plasma grenade from his launcher.

The grenade exploded in the middle of a group of Advent Troopers and killed one of them instantly. The rest recoiled and an Officer looked at them.

" **Karesh me toosh!"** He yelled, raising an arm and pointing at them.

" **Meloosh no Toras!"** A second Officer ordered, pointing at the compound.

Five of the Advent forces remained while the rest all surged into the compound, leaving two Sectoids, an Officer, and two Troopers to deal with them.

 **{** Bggg bggg psth Bgg bggs ssstasha **}** The com buzzed.

 _{Deciphering the chatter now, looks like these EXALT guys are being pushed hard, the upper floor forces are calling for reinforcements from the lower floors. All the EXALT forces holding at the breaches are moving in to reinforce and set up defensive positions.}_ Shen said. _{Guess Advent is giving them real hell.}_

 _{Just as long as they haven't reached the Commander yet!}_ Bradford yelled.

"Focus Sharks, we got a job to do!" Hawkeye yelled. "Rangers, target those Troopers, Mercy bring down that Officer! Falcon, give the Sectoids a taste of your Null Lance!"

"Look at you barking orders like the Commander." Sharptooth said as she lowered her rifle. "Lining the shot!"

" **As you wish…"** Mercy hissed.

He lowered his own rifle and all three of them fired simultaneously, and without fail all three killed their targets. The two Sectoids hissed in fury but despite preparing to return fire, Falcon's powerful psionic attack ripped through them, bringing them down just as effectively.

"The mind is the greatest 'weapon' to waste!" Falcon said calmly.

With the outside threats gone they began moving to the building itself, and their first sight of what the inside looked like. The base floor was just as similar to any Gene Therapy clinic, but without the gene therapy pods. Instead there were a series of corridors and research equipment. He noticed that the walls had been heavily damaged and blown up, revealing small rooms that looked to be living quarters. The living conditions confused him greatly though, because instead of 'bedding' that he was familiar with, nearly half the rooms were barren except for a single exceptionally comfortable bed and heating radiating lights.

 _ **{Attention all forces, enemy personnel have penetrated the fifth level!}**_ A female voice declared over the building's intercom, a voice they recognized as clearly belonging to the Hierarch Mother. _**{All remaining forces proceed to reinforce the fourth and fifth floor, do not allow them to take control of the fifth floor!}**_

 _{Fifth floor huh, I wonder what's so important about the fifth floor?}_ Bradford asked. _{Shen, can you get a lock on the Commander?}_

 _{Scanners indicate he's somewhere in there, but I can't get a lock on him, I'm trying to contact his Gremlin now!}_ Shen answered. _{Commander, come in, do you read me!}_

 _[Bzzzzzzt…]_

"I take that as a no." Hawkeye said.

 _{Then we keep going, look for a staircase or something, and be careful, Advent forces are trying to break up to the upper floors, the closer you get to his signal the more easily I can locate and contact him!}_ Shen said.

"Where's the staircase?" Puppy asked.

"One would think, following the debris would be a good way to start." Eagleeye said, nodding at the trail of blood and destroyed walls.

They followed the trail and it didn't take them long before they encountered yet another group of Advent forces fighting with Exalt operatives. This time the Exalt forces had set up temporary barricades and cover by using destroyed furniture. They were currently fighting off several Advent Troopers and were trading fire in the hallway.

"Garaaaa!" A feminine voice screamed as one of the operatives was shot in the face by a Plasma rifle.

"Oh lord, that's gotta hurt!" Hawkeye said.

 **{** Pssssghs Bagsjsh pstsss msnshsta bggzt **}** They heard over the com chatter.

 _{Exalt aint exactly lasting very long, according to this they've begun losing ground on the other staircases and sections of the floors they've gained. Advent sure is pushing them hard.}_

The remaining EXALT operative pulled out what looked like a frag grenade and tossed it at the Advent Troopers firing at him. While it did injure them badly, none of the Troopers died, instead they immediately returned fire and blasted him completely full of Plasma bolts.

It was obvious from the burns that he was dead, and without any further delay the Troopers began heading for the staircase, but not before one of the Officers noticed them.

" **Karemanoosh!"** He yelled. **"Vestoosh, meeest portasha!"**

All of the aliens that were with them continued onward toward the staircase, but the Troopers and Officer remained to fight them.

"Jeez, you'd think we weren't wanted!" Hawkeye yelled as they all took shelter from the incoming fire.

As they began returning fire with T-Rex deploying suppression fire at two of the Troopers when they heard the Hierarch Mother start talking again over the coms.

 _ **{Attention all forces, XCOM has penetrated the compound's defenses, do not allow them to reach the fifth floor. Any and all forces on the first floor, proceed to staircase L-26, wipe them out!}**_

"We don't have time for this!" He yelled as he prepped his grenade.

He tossed his grenade at the group and it exploded in the middle, killing off two of the Troopers and wounding the other three.

" **Harast no Toroosh!"** The Officer ordered, pointing at Puppy.

At his orders the Troopers began focusing their fire on Puppy, who had to duck to avoid getting hit. "Taking heavy fire here!" Puppy yelled as her cover was ripped up.

"Mercy, shut that Officer up!" He ordered.

" **As you order!"** She hissed.

Mercy leaned over their cover and fired a single round into the Officer's head, bringing him down instantly.

"Sharptooth, Reaper the remaining two Troopers!" He ordered now.

"You got it!" Sharptooth yelled as she unsheathed her Arc Blade. "Time to reap!"

She ran at the Troopers, dodging the plasma and kinetic fire from their weapons as she did. In seconds she reached the first Trooper and took a leaping jump at him, slicing through his arm and chest and causing orange blood to be expelled. Without any hesitation she turned and sliced the remaining Trooper in the neck before plunging her blade into his chest and turning it clockwise.

With that the remaining Trooper simply collapsed onto the floor in a pool of his blood, while Sharptooth slid her blade back into its sheath with a smile.

"The Grim Reaper will be busy today!" She said over their coms. "I left their faces alone so he can recognize who's on the list!"

"I swear that girl scares me some days with her love of close quarters combat…" Puppy whispered as they all headed for the staircase now that the path was clear.

" **I am glad our sister is on 'our' side!"** Mercy hissed to him as she slithered next to him.

"Sharptooth always likes getting up close and personal, but sometimes she can be a little… 'too' eager to get down and dirty." He said. "But hey, it's what the Commander would have ordered her to do."

They began making their way up the staircase, proceeding up to the next level, all the while hearing explosions and weapons fire being exchanged.

(Commander's PoV)

" **It would appear that your XCOM has finally showed up to retrieve you."** The Hierarch Mother hissed to him calmly, even as the weapons fire was drawing closer.

 _[Then you have only to wait until they arrive before you are killed!]_ He commented to her.

" **No… I cannot allow myself to be killed!"** She hissed with a frown. **"I am still important to the Elder's will, I cannot be killed until I have fulfilled my purpose! Besides, I have not yet lost this battle; I can still turn this around!"**

 _[And yet, here we are, your secret compound is under attack, your forces are being depleted, and now my XCOM forces are here to rescue me.]_ He recited. _[When are you going to realize that you have been outmatched by me Hierarch Mother? It was foolish of you to believe that you could 'ever' best me in tactics!]_

She hissed with disdain as she glared at him, but the look of adoration and respect never left her eyes.

 _[You had me alone, isolated, restricted from my forces, reduced to nothing but a 'showpiece' for you to plant on a cushion and pedestal. And yet, I not only outmaneuvered you, but have now crippled your forces and weakened them! I may not know who this other group is yet, but the timing on their attack is the perfect opportunity my forces needed to break me out now!]_

As she continued to look at him he saw something in her eyes that made him grin inwardly.

He saw in her expression, a look of worry.

 _[I hope you have a contingency plan, because without it, I don't think this will end well for you if you 'fail' again.]_

(Mercy's PoV)

" **More targets!"** She hissed as she ducked behind the plasma wall Hawkeye had planted to protect them.

They had reached the midway section of the second floor, being unable to proceed upward with a collapsed staircase.

No doubt the staircase was destroyed by EXALT operatives trying to buy their forces on the upper floors time. As for the ones on the second floor, she and the other Sharks passed by a few corpses, the only things remaining of them.

"Command come in, we're having difficulty reaching the next staircase, how much further is it?" Hawkeye asked as Sharptooth peaked over and fired with Puppy.

 _{You're about sixty feet away from it, should be able to see it by now!}_ He answered.

"Oh we can see it alright, problem is, its guarded by five Sectoids and a Muton!" Puppy yelled as she ducked behind their cover.

They had made decent progress, but now they were encountering the same Advent forces that were also trying to reach the upper floors. Despite their quick and efficient methods of killing off the reinforcing units, they were being slowed down now.

Taking a chance to load up her last dart with the new venom, she leaned over the plasma wall and fired, hitting the Muton in the middle of his forehead. The dart expelled its venom into his system, and moments later she saw the effects, or at least, they all 'heard' the effects.

" **GRAWWARAAAW!"** He screamed as he clutched at his eyes, before firing blindly and destroying the wall with his plasma weapon.

"Falcon, try to take control of that Sectoid's mind!" Hawkeye ordered.

"Understood!" She heard Falcon respond. "Your mind, is but an open book to me!"

While she reloaded her rifle with a plasma dart she watched as Falcon released his psi amp's power, and saw that a purple psionic energy connected him to the Sectoid he had aimed at. Moments later the Sectoid 'painfully' turned and shot at one of his fellow Sectoids at point blank, killing him instantly. The third Sectoid fired back realizing he was being controlled and killed the controlled Sectoid, but not before Falcon severed the connection.

The fourth Sectoid retaliated as Sharptooth fired on the third one, and they all saw psionic power coursing from his head.

"Incoming Psi-reanimation!" Falcon yelled.

Without fail she saw all three of the fallen enemy corpses they had just killed, including the ones behind them that they had just dealt with, all began rising as 'zombies'.

"Ugh, not these things again!" Puppy groaned as she recharged her laser rifle. "I hate zombies, killing them doesn't even count as kills!"

"Sharptooth, kill the Sectoid that brought them back up!" Hawkeye orderd.

"With pleasure!" Sharptooth responded, and moments later they watched as a single plasma round was fired through his head.

Following the Sectoid's death the zombies fell back down as well. "What do you think, does that count as ten to my kill count?"

"That still only counts as one!" Puppy complained.

"One more than you anyway." She countered.

"Enough bantering, save it for when we push through to the staircase!" Hawkeye yelled.

Mercy hissed as she fired and finished off the last Sectoid while T-Rex blasted the other remaining one. _***So many dead… all for 'one' individual…***_ She thought to herself as she looked at all of the corpses.

She despised the death toll that was taking place, but she did not care how many of Advent's forces she would have to kill tonight. Not only that, but she also was not feeling any remorse having to kill her own sisters, though she hoped that wouldn't be the case. Advent had captured her Commander, her new 'Hierarch', as she saw him. She would do 'anything' even sacrifice herself to prove her loyalty to him now, for if he was lost, then she feared they would begin to lose again despite the advantages he had given them as a parting gift before being captured.

He had sacrificed himself to save them, and she was willing now to do the same to get him back.

With 'him' back, she had a future, a future with Hawkeye hopefully, and she 'wanted' that future desperately.

 **{** Bzztsgsa Bztsssgara tssssgkha haaatreesht **}** The com buzzed.

 _{Guys, move faster, if what this decrypted chatter says is true, then EXALT is losing the fight upstairs, they've been forced to concede most of the third and half of the fourth floors. Only sparse pockets of EXALT operatives remain up there and on your level, and they are losing those forces fast!}_ Shen said.

They quickly began heading to the staircase and climbed it, with Mercy being the last as she chose to be the last one up so she could use her weapon more effectively at long range. As she did she saw several Advent forces coming in behind her, but only because they were taking cover from conventional weapon fire.

 _ ***Even as their forces are dying, they refuse to concede…***_ She thought to herself. _***They are almost as bad as Advent… being forced to fight to the death… how sad…***_

She slithered up the staircase, only to find that it too had been destroyed to prevent them from proceeding to the fourth floor from the third.

"Slag, we need another staircase Commander!" T-Rex cursed.

 _{Scans indicate there's another one about fifty feet to your right, head that way!}_ He answered. _{We've gotten a read on the roof's coordinates and are dropping in SHIV, keep going up Sharks!}_

As they made their way down the corridor, taking the first right they could, she spotted yet another group of EXALT operatives in the middle of a fight. Or at least, 'AN' operative, as the floor around them was littered with dead and mutilated corpses.

" **Graaaawra!"** A Berserker roared as it ran at the operative from the opposite direction they were at, even as the operative was firing desperately to kill it.

It was over instantly as the operative was punched in the gut, unfortunately as they were in the middle of trying to grab a grenade.

"Hoo ha, HAAA…" The female voice screamed in horror as she was punched 'through' the wall to fall to her death outside, before they heard the grenade explode, ending the poor EXALT operative's life.

"What a way to go…" Eagleeye commented.

The Berserker continued running toward them though, roaring as it spotted them.

"Bring it down, bring it down, bring that damn thing down!" Hawkeye yelled as it ran for them, waving its arms madly as drool poured from its mouth, frantically raising his weapon and firing rapidly.

They all fired with T-Rex taking the lead and unloading his Beam Cannon at the monster, in mere moments their combined firepower killed it, making its body collapse and skid across the floor.

"Kill confirmed!" Puppy yelled enthusiastically as one of the last things to hit it was her weapon's laser fire.

 _{Sorry Puppy, that one belongs to Falcon.}_ Bradford said.

"Dammit!" Puppy complained bitterly.

(Commander's PoV)

 _[So tell me, what do you plan to do now?]_ He asked as the Hierarch Mother and her many Viper guards waited in her room, hearing the sounds of battle drawing closer even as she stared at a portable view screen, giving orders over the intercom.

" **I've managed to nearly finish wiping out the intruders, but your XCOM forces are now wiping out my defenses!"** She hissed back to him nervously. **"Roberto has arrived and has landed his forces outside of my compound to retake the ground that the intruders have taken, but he's being held up by my own Anti Air turrets. They've been reprogrammed by one of the intruders and is destroying his transports before they can land here safely."**

 _[That sounds more like a 'status' update instead of a 'contingency plan'.]_ He said dully.

" **I've got a transport waiting on the roof of my compound, if it becomes clear we can't hold the compound any longer, I and all remaining Vipers will escape with 'you'. We will then relocate to another facility that is more secure."** She answered.

Moments later they heard a massive explosion above and the entire facility shook ever so slightly.

He could almost see the color in the Hierarch Mother's scales change to a shade closer to white.

 _[Sounds like something happened?]_ He asked her.

" **They... someone just 'destroyed' my transport."** She hissed as she stared at the screen. **"A little 'machine'… how can something so small be so powerful?"**

 _[Sounds like my SHIV has finally hit the field.]_ He commented.

She glanced up at him and then back to the screen. **"I've not lost yet… I've not lost yet!"** She hissed. **"I can win, I can still win, this is just a minor setback that I can easily fix! I've prepared my compound for any scenario!"**

 _[Oh Hierarch Mother… when will you learn…]_ He taunted her. _[When will you learn that you can prepare for anything probable, but no matter how good your preparations are, you can never prepare for the 'unexpected' or 'unpredictable'!]_

She looked up at him with a worried expression.

 _[Nobody can predict everything, not even me, after all, I 'missed' a ninety-five percent chance to take you out!]_

(Hawkeye's PoV)

As they began racing up the staircase to the fourth floor, he was once again not surprised to find that their progress to the fifth was blocked by debris.

"We need another staircase Commander!" He said over the com. "And I take it that SHIV has hit the roof?"

 _{You got that right Ranger.}_

 **[I'm on the battlefield!]** SHIV declared excitedly. **[And I am proud to report, that I have destroyed my first Advent Transport!]**

"Anything else to report up top?" As he and the others began making their way in a direction toward what they thought was another staircase.

 **[It looks like EXALT had the same plan we did, there appears to be wreckage of some helicopters up here!]** SHIV declared, sending them an image of the roof from its POV. **[It appears they were planning to extract him via the air from the room, but the anti-air turrets destroyed them! I'm also detecting several large scale explosions taking place in the surrounding forest, my guess is that Advent's reinforcements are trying to break through what remains of EXALT's outer forces as their own transports are coming under fire as they come in.]**

 _{Alright SHIV, keep the roof secured until further notice!}_ Bradford said.

 **[Understood!]**

As they raced down the corridor, running past exposed rooms which all seemed to be containing lab equipment, he spotted another squad of Advent 'Peacekeepers' standing guard over more mutilated corpses.

" **Karesh metos!"** The Officer yelled, and they all began taking cover among the debris.

"Deploying plasma shield!" T-Rex yelled as he whipped out his plasma shield and slammed it into the floor.

" **Toosh me koresh!"** The Officer yelled, pointing at him at that moment.

As shield was deployed he came under heavy fire, but the armor did its job and protected his torso from most of the damage, buying him time to duck behind the shield with the rest of the Sharks.

"How many of these bastards do we have to kill before they get the message?" He complained as they reloaded their weapons, having been running low with all the encounters.

"As many as it takes before I get my kill!" Puppy replied before she looked over and fired her weapon.

Her shot hit a Trooper as he was firing, but it hit his chest plate and it only wounded him.

"Sharptooth finish him off!" He ordered.

"Lining my sight!" Sharptooth declared as she took the shot and finished him off.

"I'm empty, reloading!" T-Rex yelled as he emptied the last of his clip.

"Firing!" Falcon said calmly.

" **Graaaah…"** One of the troopers yelled as he was killed, but not before the Officer pulled out a grenade and tossed it.

"GRENADE!" Hawkeye yelled.

They all broke for cover except for Mercy, who was slowest to respond, and she was caught in the blast. The grenade went off and the first thing he thought was 'was she hurt'?

"Mercy!" He yelled as T-Rex primed another grenade and launched it back in retaliation.

He ran to the downed Viper as she wearily got up, her chest armor riddled with plasma burns and her scales also burned. **"I'm… alive…"** She hissed quietly.

"Don't die on me Mercy, I still want to go on that date with you." He whispered quietly to her, helping her up gently so she could stand up straight.

" **Hawkeye… what is 'date'?"** She asked curiously but also just as quietly.

"Well… it's when two individuals, often male and female, go and… do stuff together alone." He replied as the Sharks took up new cover behind rubble while he pulled her to another pile of rubble.

" **So… what I asked 'you' to do with 'me'?"** She hissed warmly as he looked at her wounds.

"Yea, pretty much." He said.

She smiled happily as she let him hold her hands and looked at the plasma burns. **"Hawkeye… I have something I wish to say…"**

"Tell me after we're done with this mission!" He said as he heard the last of the Troopers finally die to T-Rex's weapon.

" **As… you wish."** She hissed, but for just the split moment he saw her staring almost 'lovingly' at him.

(Commander's PoV)

The Hierarch Mother was frantically issuing orders, giving out commands as he read the situation through her panicked expression.

 _[You can't win.]_ He said.

" **I can't… I can't lose now!"** She hissed in fear. **"Not when I've finally got you!"**

Then as she continued to glance at her screen she paused to look at something, with a confused expression.

" **Why… is that 'daughter'…"** She hissed.

 _[I take it you mean Mercy?]_

" **Yes… Mercy… why is she holding 'hands' with that… human?"** She asked. **"Why is she… looking at him so… tenderly?"**

 _[You mean Hawkeye… well, traditionally, when two of my operatives or personnel hold hands, its most likely because they 'like' each other.]_ He commented.

" **And you condone such actions?"** She hissed in curiosity.

 _[I've known about her 'inner' feelings for a month or so now, she always had a soft spot for him.]_

It was no secret to him, what with him monitoring all of their visuals and watching from the cameras aboard the Avenger that Mercy always treated Hawkeye differently from anyone. She was always the kindest to him, always listened to what he said first, protected him fastest out of anyone including 'him', and now more recently from the Hierarch Mother's observations that she was holding his hands now.

He wasn't blind, he could tell when someone had a crush on someone.

 _[If she and he wish to pursue a relationship with one another, I'll let them, its 'their' choice, not mine and definitely not anyone else's. What becomes of it will be their decision, and if they fall in love with one another, despite being different species, then I will protect their relationship and let it flourish. Just because your Elders and Advent species are killing my people, does not mean I extend the same hatred I have for the Elders to your individual members.]_

She looked at him with a soft expression before returning it to the screen. **"I see…"** She hissed softly.

(Mercy's PoV)

They climbed the staircase up to the fifth level while taking fire from a group of Advent forces trying to stop them. Just as she finished climbing the staircase last Hawkeye gave her the order to toss her only grenade to destroy the staircase behind them.

She primed the grenade and slithered quickly away as it dropped to the floor, and moments later it went off, leaving only a pile of rubble where once a staircase had been.

"That was… the last of our… grenades Hawkeye!" Puppy panted as she pulled out one of her Medkits to heal up Eagleeye.

She glanced over at her fellow Shark's conditions, nearly all of them were panting, even Falcon with his calm and collected mind. They had been fighting almost nonstop for the past ten minutes after climbing to the fourth floor. In that time T-Rex had lost much of the new Titan Armor's protective armor, and Eagleeye got hit badly by a plasma shot. Even Eagleeye's Gremlin was out of charges for its attacks, having spent its capacity discharge and offensive protocols, it barely had enough power left to keep floating above him.

The rest of them were simply exhausted from constantly firing and running from cover to cover. With the EXALT forces now all but diminished the Advent forces were now focusing on 'them'.

" **All remaining Advent forces to the fifth floor elevator! The sixth floor has been breached, repeat, all forces to the fifth floor elevator, the sixth floor has been breached!"** The Hierarch Mother ordered over the intercom, her voice sounding very panicked now.

"I guess we know where our Commander is?" Hawkeye asked as they gathered their breaths.

 _{That's as good as guess as I have, I can't get a clear lock on the Commander's signal, but its close by!}_ Shen said.

 **{** Bzzst bstaw psssht! **}**

 _{And judging by that latest EXALT transmission, you guys are running out of time, according to my decryption, all the remaining EXALT operatives are on the sixth floor and have almost reached the Commander's position!}_

"Where's the next staircase, this one ended here on the fifth floor?" Puppy asked.

" **Yes, where is it?"** Mercy hissed as she looked around for a possible staircase as well.

The floor they were now on was just a single corridor with only three branching paths that she could see ahead of them. There didn't appear to be a staircase anywhere nearby that she could see.

 _{Your out of luck, there aren't any more staircases left, the closest thing I have left from these schematics is located in the center of the floor. According to this it seems to take you straight up to the sixth floor, near a room that seems to be 'classified'… and heavily shielded from my scans.}_

"So catch the elevator, got it!" Hawkeye said. "Alright Sharks, let's get going!"

Mercy followed behind him, her tail aching from the pain of her plasma burns, but she ignored them as she slithered on behind her human. This was nothing new to them, she and the other Sharks had been through this kind of situation before, fighting an uphill battle, but this was a mission they could not afford to fail. If her Hierarch Mother got away with the Commander, then all hope for the resistance was all but lost.

If her Hierarch Mother escaped with him, then they may never find him again, she was not known to make the same mistake twice.

As she passed by a fork in the corridor, she saw down one hall a corridor filled with more bodies, dead Advent forces and even a few of her sisters, but mostly EXALT operatives. Some of them had their arms ripped off or blown off, others had acidic burns in their chests, but all of them were all obviously dead.

"This isn't even a fight; this is a bloody massacre!" Puppy whispered as they moved through the hallway of death.

They could hear the sounds of battle from upstairs now, and she saw up ahead what looked to be a circular elevator that only seemed capable of going up, with no guards protecting it.

"There's our ticket up!" T-Rex said.

"Hooray, an unguarded elevator for once!" Sharptooth said as they all climbed in together.

It was a tight squeeze, but Mercy compensated by coiling her tail as much as she could so they could all make the trip to the sixth floor in one go. Though she easily took advantage of the tight space to get as close to Hawkeye as she could, feeling him pressing against her to fit in.

With him so close she felt her heart beating.

That was, until the sounds of battle suddenly went silent upstairs.

"Uh… is it just me, or did everything get awkwardly quiet?" Puppy asked.

The elevator began going upward and they each took the chance to reload, recharge, and rearm their weapons. She felt her ammunition pouch and found she was running extremely low on ammunition.

Moments later the elevator stopped and they exited onto the sixth floor, clambering out as quickly as they could. Surrounding the elevator was the scene of yet 'another' battle, but this one was not nearly as bloody. Only seven bodies littered the floor, five Advent Troopers and Officers, with two EXALT operatives, all lying between them and a solitary door, which was currently being 'guarded' by a lone EXALT operative clutching a laser rifle.

The EXALT operative turned to them and instantly raised their weapon at them, and they in turn raised theirs to point at him or her.

"Give it up, your outnumbered seven to one!" Hawkeye yelled.

The EXALT operative was silent as she looked between them and the door.

" **You cannot win, just lower the weapon…"** Mercy hissed, hoping to reason with this 'fanatic'.

The EXALT operative continued to stare at them silently.

 _{If that operative doesn't move in five seconds, shoot them!}_ Bradford declared. _{We can't waste any more time!}_

As if hearing Bradford, their mysterious and silent opponent lowered their weapon slowly.

Thinking perhaps they had surrendered, Mercy began to lower her weapon as well, but jerked it up again as the operative suddenly reached for their side arm, aimed it, and open fired.

A metal clatter hit the floor as the door lock mechanism fell, damaged and destroyed.

They simply stared as the operative returned the side arm and held their primary weapon at the ready.

"There's an elevator opposite this one that will take you to the roof." The EXALT operative said in a female voice. "All my remaining kin have been killed in this building, I cannot carry out my mission… I will let you carry out yours instead."

There was even more silence as they continued to stare at her. **"Why do you do this?"** Mercy hissed curiously.

"Our mission here was to retrieve 'him' at all costs… to get him out no matter what… who gets him is of no concern… only that he remains out of Advent's hands." She answered. "I will take the elevator down and hold off the reinforcements as long as I can. Good luck…"

With that she calmly walked toward them, between them, into the elevator, and down to the fifth floor alone.

"Well that just happened…" Eagleeye said.

"Let's just get the Commander and get out!" Hawkeye said as he led the way to the room.

They each took up a position by the door while Puppy was ordered to Overwatch the corridor behind them, in case any more Advent forces tried to sneak up through the elevator. He counted off the seconds before giving the signal to kick the door open, and instantly they all stormed in with weapons raised.

She looked opposite of where she was to see seven Vipers, all with weapons aimed at 'them'. Four looked to be 'elite' Viper guards for the Hierarch Mother. Two seemed to be ordinary sisters in basic armor and wielding basic weaponry. One seemed to be a Neonate, a young Viper, and who's scales had yet to reveal if she was capable or incapable of breeding 'naturally', and shakily wielding a basic plasma pistol against them. And the final Viper was none other than her Hierarch Mother, with a plasma pistol aimed at them as well.

Behind the Hierarch Mother they could see a plasma shield in the center of what appeared to be a living space. Within that shield was a pedestal with a cushion on top of it, and atop that cushion was a solitary, damaged Gremlin.

The Commander's Gremlin.

 _[Sharks, you've come to rescue me!]_ He said almost matter of fact. _[Took you long enough, I expected you here at least two weeks ago!]_

"Sorry Commander, we had a little 'trouble' finding you." Hawkeye said while they kept their weapons at the ready.

" **Forgive us for our lateness, but we're here to rescue you now!"** Mercy hissed proudly.

" **I will not surrender him!"** The Hierarch Mother hissed furiously. **"I don't care how many bodies mount before me, I will sacrifice a hundred fold to keep 'him' away from you!"**

They stared off against each other with neither side willing to fire first. It was obvious to everyone, especially Mercy as she looked at the situation, that at any moment, this would and could turn into a bloodbath. The look in her Hierarch Mother's face told the truth of her stance, she would indeed sacrifice any number of her daughters, including herself, to keep the Commander from reuniting with XCOM.

The last thing she wanted, despite her allegiances now, was to kill more of her sisters, especially her Hierarch Mother. She was still a head figure for her sisters, their leader and inspiration for how to live. If she killed her, then she feared what would become of her species as a whole.

Killing a male is horrible enough, but to kill her Hierarch Mother?

 _[Mercy, shoot the control panel!]_ The Commander ordered.

Without hesitation she aimed at the first thing that looked like a control panel on the wall, and fired her plasma round. Instantly the shield dropped and she quickly reloaded to take aim again in case they began firing.

" **Why did you order one of my 'daughters' to destroy the control panel to your shield?"** She asked him. **"What does lowering the shield protecting you do to the situation? You are still captive, and I refuse to surrender you!"**

 _[You are such a fool you snake…]_ The Commander said in a calm voice. _[For one so 'tactically' aware as she claims to be, you fail to read the situation has drastically changed now with that action. With one bullet I changed the playing field…]_

" **And how did you do 'that' my mentor?"** She hissed.

 _[Now 'I'm' in the crossfire… you could make all the threats you want with me safely behind a shield, but now that I'm exposed…]_

Mercy watched as the Hierarch Mother's eyes went wide in understanding. She herself though was still confused.

"Commander, you just forced us to expose you to danger, how does that help us get you out of here?" Hawkeye asked now.

 _[Simple Hawkeye, the Hierarch Mother won't dare risk 'my' safety, she's got a bit of a crush on me and wouldn't dream of letting anything happen to me!]_ He said calmly. _[She made a fatal mistake in getting too close to me, and she gave me too much information to use. I've just been waiting for the right moment to take advantage of it.]_

Mercy stared in amazement at her Hierarch Mother. She had a crush on the Commander, 'her' Hierarch Mother had a 'crush' on the XCOM Commander?

" **I am right to fear you Commander… you truly are a military genius…"** She hissed quietly. **"I let my guard down…"**

 _[The biggest mistake you 'ever' made Hierarch Mother… was when you 'underestimated' me. I did tell you, the next time you underestimate me might cost you your life!]_ He answered. _[You never learned the first rule of warfare… never underestimate your opponent, now you're going to let my operative pick me up and let us all go without firing a shot, is that clear?]_

" **And why would I do that?"** She hissed now.

 _[Because you said so yourself, 'If I ever wanted to control you, all I had to do was tell you what to do.]_ He replied. _[You gave me too much information to work with, did you honestly think I would not take advantage of every scrap of knowledge I gained?]_

Mercy looked at her Hierarch Mother's defeated expression, as well as the pained look she had as he spoke to her. She felt sorry for her Hierarch Mother, being used by her crush must be hurting her.

Yet at the same time she seemed 'happy'? The look on her face showed signs of 'joy'?

" **Very well… as you… 'command'…"** She hissed, before she lowered her weapon.

Behind her all of the other Vipers lowered their weapons as well, and Hawkeye was allowed to walk over and pick up the Commander's Gremlin and walk back over to the other Sharks.

"Should we kill her Commander?" He asked as he retrained his weapon one handed at her with the other Sharks.

 _[Negative, if we kill her, the order for her Vipers to leave us be will not stand, they'll chase after and kill us for revenge, I won't risk any more blood for me today. She's not worth it…]_ He said before they heard him tapping into their coms. _[Bradford, I take it this operation is your doing?]_

 _{Commander, it's good to hear your voice again!}_ Bradford asked him.

 _[Bradford, I have just six words for you. What took you so damn long?]_ He asked. _[But we can catch up later, I'd like to resume my Command of XCOM.]_

 _{Of course sir, 'Computer, execute Echelon Protocol!'}_

They all heard the computer confirming the exchange of senior command.

 _[Good, now let's get out of here Sharks! I want to go home…]_

They all slowly walked backward, keeping their weapons aimed at the Vipers and Hierarch Mother. The last thing Mercy saw was her Hierarch Mother smiling softly at her with a knowing expression, before she nodded at her specifically.

She nodded back in understanding, she knew what she was saying in that single nod.

Her Hierarch Mother understood her decision to fight 'for' XCOM, and she did not hate her at all for her decision.

The relief she felt from that action was too much for her to express openly.

(Commander's PoV)

They left the room and were just about to head to the elevator upward when the elevator which led down to the fifth floor rose up to them.

He saw that it was bringing an Advent Trooper who appeared to be heavily wounded, bearing the signs of laser burns. He was about to alert the Sharks and warn them of the Trooper when a burst of laser fire sounded from Puppy's weapon.

Her shot hit the Trooper in the chest and he fell backward, slumping to the floor against the elevator wall.

Everyone stared at Puppy who looked just as stunned at her action, before she turned to him with a grin on her face. "KILL, CONFIRMED!" She screamed to his Gremlin's face. "AND YOU ALL SAW IT!"

 _[Central, I'm not going to hear the end of this, am I?]_ He asked him.

 _{I'm sorry sir, I gave her the weapon so we could help get you out.}_ He said.

They moved on to the elevator quickly after that, but not before he made contact with his SHIV up on the roof.

 _[SHIV, do you copy?]_

 **[Commander, it's good to hear your voice again sir!]**

 _[Give me a status report!]_

 **[The enemy forces know I'm up here sir, they've been trying to land forces and have been dropping off reinforcements to take control of the roof!]** She said as she sent him an image of what she was shooting at, five Troopers and Mutons. **[I'm trying to hold them at bay, but the more I shoot, the more they keep sending, I can't even stop firing to target the transports to prevent them from landing!]**

 _[Hold your ground, continue firing until we reach you on the roof for Evac.]_ He ordered.

 **[Roger that!]** She said as she fired off a grenade.

They found the elevator and everyone climbed in quickly, moments later it began to rise up at a rapid pace.

 _{Commander, the Skyranger has reached the roof and is ready to pick you up!}_ Central said.

As the elevator reached the roof he saw that SHIV had indeed been busy, the roof looked like a warzone with all the Muton, Sectoid, Trooper and Officer bodies lying around. But he saw four transports flying in their direction, heading toward a section of the perimeter of the compound.

 _[Let's go home Sharks!]_ He said.

They all boarded the Skyranger and the door closed behind them, and moments later the Skyranger took off.

"So Commander, tell us, how did you like being a prisoner?" Puppy asked with a grin.

 _[Oh it was alright Puppy.]_ He responded. _[The food was lousy, but the service was passable.]_

(Roberto's PoV, five minutes after XCOM leaves, near the forest line outside of the compound)

"So let me get this straight, not ONLY, did you fail to eliminate XCOM when they penetrated your base and extracted their Commander, you also allowed a group of 'rebels' to assault your hidden compound and 'allow' XCOM to extract their commander?" He yelled as he stared into the Hierarch Mother's eyes. "I hope you have an explanation you pathetic excuse for a Viper!"

" **Do not call 'me' pathetic!"** She hissed at him dangerously. **"I did all I could, I sacrificed nearly 'all' of my forces to protect my position, if 'you' had arrived sooner instead of 'gloating' about my needing your assistance, then perhaps this whole situation could have ended differently!"**

"We'll see how the 'council' views this after I inform them of your 'failure'!" He said. "They won't let you get away with this; they'll have your head on a silver platter."

She hissed furiously at him but he was not intimidated, she could do 'nothing' to him. He was a higher ranking member of the council now, extremely favored by them. All he had to do was inform them of tonight's events and he would no doubt be in 'her' position on the council, instead of just the token 'human' to give their administration legitimacy.

"I let you indulge in your fantasies for your 'Commander', but I warned you to just kill him when we had the chance! If only you had killed him, then this situation would never have happened. But no, you had to go and keep him as your 'precious pet'. I knew I should have killed him when I had the chance!"

" **If you had killed him I would have silenced you for even 'trying'!"** She countered venomously.

"I'd like to see you…"

-Pstew!-

He didn't even feel the plasma bolt hit the side of his head, or feel it pass through his jaw. All he felt was excruciating pain as he fell to the floor, trying to scream but only squirting blood all over the forest floor.

" **SNIPER!"** The Hierarch Mother hissed. **"Get in the transport now!"**

He tried to get up but he was in so much pain he could barely pick his head up, and his cry for help came out as a mere whimper.

As she and her Vipers boarded 'his' transport she turned and grinned at him. **"I'll be sure to tell the Council, how 'you' failed to help me in time…"** She hissed warmly. **"A pity my compound suffered such damage that all of the camera feeds have been lost… as for 'you'…"** She leaned close enough just to whisper to him. **"A 'traitor's' death is all you deserve… I'll leave you to whoever it is that chose to fire at 'you' instead of me…"**

With that she climbed onto his transport and closed the door, and he tried to curse at her for abandoning him but she began to take off with her fellow Vipers.

"Ggsts… gststa…" He whimpered as he tried to crawl away, trying to reach one of the other transports with his com badge, but he was hearing interference.

Twelve minutes later he heard footsteps as he continued to crawl, and looked behind him thinking it was an Advent Trooper.

"Well well, if it isn't 'Agent Viper'… or should I say… 'Former' Agent Viper?" A feminine voice asked as a woman in civilian clothes stepped closer to him.

"Ggst… dbl istsh sven?" He asked incredulously, the only thing his mouth could say past all of the damage.

"Nice to see you too 'darling'." She said calmly. "You know, I targeted 'you' on purpose. As much as I would have loved to kill one of those Vipers, I find that you are far more of a snake than 'they' could ever be. At least 'they' stay true to their oaths of loyalty."

He tried to crawl away from her, but he knew it was pointless, he was in too much pain to get away from her.

"Whss istah dsigh is?" He asked, blood now pouring from his mouth as he spoke.

"Because you betrayed us, I've been waiting twenty-five years to put a bullet in your head… and yes, I left you alive so you could see the face of the one who killed you." She said as she stepped closer. "After the stunt you pulled… it's only fitting that it is me who kills you in the end!"

"Bfs I ddst… fot suuu!" He pleaded to her.

"Did it for me huh?" She asked him. "Too bad you killed every one of my friends, family, colleagues, betrayed their trust, and would have probably sold me out as well if we weren't hitched together. From one agent to another… revenge is a dish best served 'painfully'. You are getting what you deserved…"

She stood over him now and pointed her pistol at his legs, before firing at them, then she fired at his arms.

"Ghaarwa haharrr!" He moaned in pain.

"There now, don't worry, it'll all be over soon… I just want you to be alive long enough to see me take my trophy." She said sweetly as she put her rifle and pistol down, before she reached into his jacket and pulled out a small case. "You have your trophies… I have mine… you collected the badges of all thirty-one operatives that you betrayed… mine and yours being excluded… which reminds me…"

She slid a hand into her pocket and pulled out a small badge, one with an image of a coiled hooded snake. 'His' old badge from when he was still an agent for XCOM.

"The only one left to add now is mine… I'll give this to the Commander as a present. Now back to 'my' prize." She whispered warmly as she put it to the side and looked back at him. "Normally my prizes are from 'corpses', so I've never done this while my target was still alive… this may take a while. But you'll be alive for the whole experience… at least until you die from blood loss or from sheer pain."

He watched as she pulled out a pair of 'rusty' plyers, and a necklace of what looked like 'teeth' from her pocket.

"You want to know a secret 'honey'?" She asked him. "I was paid to kill a Viper and a Commander… and 'you' were the Viper…"

She leaned closer with a smile on her face, and a gleam in her eye while the other was patched up and concealed.

"Oh… I'm such a bad woman, how could I forget the importance of today?" She whispered in a sultry voice. "Happy anniversary… hubby!"


	23. Chapter 23

{Incoming Unknown Transmission. . .}

{Bszstssssh. . .}

{. . . I am ready for pickup. . .}

{Transmission Ending. . .}

=Chapter 23, Agent 007=

(Hierarch Mother's PoV)

" **As a result of this, I have been forced to take command over the remains of 'Former' Council Member Roberto…"** She hissed to the council members. **"As regrettable a loss it is; we must continue on with our work."**

" **Tilesh morashna keesh?"** One of the council heads asked on the view screens.

" **I am afraid any video footage of the attackers has been lost… I was lucky enough to escape with what few survivors I could, prior to a sniper eliminating Roberto."** She answered mournfully. **"It was obvious the attackers meant to kill me as well, and Roberto was crippled beyond recovery, had I not escaped when I did, both of us would be dead."**

" **Teeshtoosh metokash?"**

" **I assure you… I have already made plans to recover the Commander."** She said with a smile. **"In his current state, with his mind and body separated, he is useless to the Elders, so we must reunite the two halves… I already have a plan in mind to fix the situation."** There was a moment of silence she allowed to let the information sink in before she spoke up again. **"It is fortunate though, because I have also heard of the human media reporting about his 'past' events, concerning how he showed his 'loyalty' to the Elders, that was apparently leaked to them from… an unknown source. It is taking everything I have to keep the information down… and we will need a replacement Human representative."**

There was a period of silence before another of the view screens spoke up. **"Keestoosh testosh norash!"**

She nodded in understanding. **"Of course fellow council members."** She declared. **"May the Elders' Will guide you as well…"**

As the view screens turned off one at a time, the door behind her opened up and one of her daughters slithered in. She had to wait to speak to her because only council heads could address other council heads.

" **You did not tell them of you letting the Commander reunite with his XCOM, at 'his' command?"** She asked quietly in their native language.

She shook her head with a smile. **"They need not know what they do not ask about… they need only be told that he managed to escape."** She said back. **"Tell me, have you and your sisters found what I asked you to?"**

The Viper nodded and presented to her a data pad, and she examined its contents in length.

" **Have you been able to trace 'him' yet?"** She asked.

" **I'm afraid not Hierarch Mother…"** She replied. **"I have received a message, from the Elders… they are asking for…"**

" **Another of your brothers, I know."** She replied disdainfully. **"I understand…"** She sighed bitterly before she looked up at the ceiling. **"Contact your brothers… I require another… 'volunteer'…"**

She turned to her daughter now and glared. **"We must move forward with our plans; the time has come to end this 'game' we have been playing."** She hissed venomously. **"I have preparations to make for my next plan… have you scouted the site for me?"**

She nodded and presented another data pad.

" **Good… now leave me… I have work to do…"** She hissed quietly.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"Look at my new toys!" Puppy squealed as they all lounged around in their quarters.

Hawkeye and the other Sharks had just gotten back to their room following Puppy's promotion ceremony, and as per the Commander's words, Puppy's new gear was waiting for her inspection.

She had been promoted to the rank of Corporal, for all of her mission experience, and because of her heroics in the field. For her classification in the ranks, she was made a Technician, and as such had been given a brand new MK III Gremlin, complete with First Aid and Revival Protocols.

For her weapon, she had been allowed to keep and modify the Laser Rifle that she had used in the field to rescue the Commander. It was an old rifle but still fairly powerful despite its age, and after rewarding Puppy some new modification tools, it was expected to be nearly as strong as any of their modern plasma weaponry.

The only thing he didn't do was change Puppy's designated name, she was still 'Puppy' on the records, and always would be.

"A superior Scope, advanced Expanded Magazine, a basic Hair Trigger, and a basic Auto Loader!" Puppy said as she examined the upgrade box left on her bed, along with the Gremlin and Laser Rifle. "I may be a support Technician, but all this new gear more than makes up for it! Now I'm really an XCOM Agent!"

"Man, why did Bradford have to give Puppy that laser rifle, now I can't make fun of her for being the rookie of the team." Sharptooth said as she lazed on her bunk.

"At least you can still pull rank on her little lady!" T-Rex said cheerfully. "So how about we all go down and see Puppy's new weapon in action!"

"I think I'd rather go get a drink for my off duty hours!" Sharptooth replied. "Although, I wouldn't mind a little sparing action with the new Corporal."

"Fat chance, I'm heading down to the range once I finish strapping everything on!" Puppy said as she began attaching the new upgrades.

"I think I'd better go with you, just to make sure you don't break your new toys." Eagleeye said with a chuckle.

Eagleeye was the only one who supported Puppy's promotion wholeheartedly, with T-Rex just laughing it off as he usually did with everything. Falcon didn't care one way or another, and Sharptooth was more annoyed than anything since she enjoyed making fun of Puppy for her lower rank.

As for him, he didn't mind Puppy's promotion, since she was now a support technician and they could always use the extra assistance in the field. What he did mind was Puppy's constant gloating and celebrating, it was as if she had just won freedom for the entire human resistance effort.

As for Mercy, Mercy was more 'confused' than anything else, as she was still unused to the whole ranking system or why they seemed to skip some ranks in the chain. She herself had gone straight from 'Rookie' to 'Sergeant' by their standards.

" **Corporal rank… it is a high rank yes?"** She asked from her bunk which was next to his.

"It's a step higher than Squaddie, but a rank lower than Sergeant." Sharptooth said dully from her bunk. "So who's turn is it to feed Vivi?"

"I fed her last night." Falcon said instantly.

"I did the day before Falcon!" Eagleeye said.

"I was before Eagleeye." Sharptooth said.

"Don't look at me." T-Rex said.

"I think I did it as well." Puppy said quietly.

Hawkeye sighed as he knew it was his turn. "It's my turn." He said.

"Well while you have fun feeding Vivi, I'm off to the range!" Puppy yelled as she finished what she was doing.

"I think I'll tag along with Puppy as well." Eagleeye said as she got up and left their room, before he whispered to them as he left. "To make sure she keeps the ship in one piece."

"I think he'll need help!" T-Rex chuckled as he leapt down and walked out as well. "Little kid can be an eager beaver; old grandpa might need help keepin her in line!"

As he left Sharptooth yawned and got up as well. "Well, since those three are gone, I'm off to the bar!" She said. "Falcon, coming?"

"Might as well…" Falcon complained as he too got up, leaving him and Mercy alone in the Sharks' quarters.

As they all left he got up and walked over to the tank which Vivi lived in and opened up the cabinet to fetch her food. While he put on gloves and tried to grab a rat, Mercy slithered over to him to watch.

" **I never understand why you give this creature name."** She hissed as he managed to grab a rat.

"She's our pet, we've gotta give her a name." He said as he replaced the lid to keep the rats from leaving and quickly tossed the one he was holding into Vivi's tank. "That and since I saved her, it's my job to keep her fed and well."

(Mercy's PoV)

" **You saved this snake?"** She asked curiously as she eyed the snake in the tank.

When she had first entered the Sharks' quarters, the first thing she spotted was the tank with the 'King Cobra', as they called it. She was rather surprised to find a creature very similar to herself here aboard the Avenger, knowing the resistance's and XCOM's history with the invasion and her species as a whole. She was even more surprised to find out that they were keeping it as a pet, and rotated duties as to who fed the snake named 'Vivi'.

"Yep, almost cost me my life but, well, I couldn't let her get killed because of us." Hawkeye said as they watched her eyeing the rat that now was running around the tank, examining its new environment.

As they watched the rat slowly began moving ever closer to the King Cobra, and Vivi watched it with patience, only sticking its tongue out to taste the air.

When the mouse was close enough, Vivi's head snapped over and struck the mouse, killing it instantly.

"Well, I think I'll head on down to get a drink as well." Hawkeye said. "What are your plans?"

" **Oh… I think I will… stay here and watch Vivi…"** She hissed nervously as he got up.

"Alright, catch you later around dinner!" He said, and left the room.

She sighed and stared at the snake, watching it slowly rotate the mouse in its mouth and beginning to swallow it whole ever so slowly.

" **It must be nice… living in that cage…"** She hissed at the primitive snake life form before her. **"Sitting in there, day after day, not worrying about fighting for your life, or worrying about when you will find a mate… or how to get your mate's attention…"**

She had yet to find alone time with Hawkeye where it would be just the two of them, not for lack of trying, but she just wasn't sure how 'humans' went about mating rituals. She had tried looking up information in the Avenger's database, but while it had vast knowledge about combat procedures, tactics, weapons details, alien enemy types and other such information, it sadly had very little in the ways of 'romantic' information.

Then of course, came the other issue, the return of their old Commander. Once he came back he had them running through training drills, practice battles, and testing out Shen's newest tools that she came up with. He just gave them very little downtime; the only recent break they've had was today with Puppy's promotion ceremony.

" **I wonder… do you even 'care' about your life?"** She asked the snake while it ate its meal. **"I mean, if someone were to aim a gun at you, would you care? It's not like you have the mental capacity to even 'think' about caring. But don't you want something out of life?"**

Back when she was still working for the Advent Administration and through them the Elders, she like many of her sisters and Hierarch Mother, thought only of serving their will, to see their vision come to fruition. But now that she was wiser, now that her eyes have been opened, she wanted only to be free of them.

She wanted only three things in life now, the first of which was obvious, for Hawkeye to see her as a potential life mate. The second thing she wanted, was freedom from the Elders, to live her life without the shadow of the Elder's controlling her life looming over her head.

As long as the Elders remained a threat, she would never find peace for her future.

And the third thing, and she was honestly now 'embarrassed' to even talk about let alone think about, was to start a family.

She could just imagine giving birth to new Vipers in the future, provided she somehow managed to successfully mate with Hawkeye.

{Attention, Agents Mercy, Sharptooth, Hawkeye, Eagleeye, Falcon, Puppy, and T-Rex please report to the Hanger Bay. Attention, Agents Mercy, Sharptooth, Sharptooth, Hawkeye, Eagleeye, Falcon, Puppy, and T-Rex please report to the Hanger Bay.}

Her head snapped up as the message blared out, as she had gotten used to being alert whenever one of the bridge crew asked for someone. But what surprised her was that they called out her squad by individual name, instead of just by their squad name.

" **Well, it must be important to call us all."** She hissed as she got up before she looked back at Vivi, the Sharks' pet cobra. **"Until next time Vivi…"**

Ten minutes later Mercy found herself alongside her fellow Sharks staring at the elevated helipad, awaiting the Commander to debrief them on whatever it was they were doing. She had been about to collect her weapon and munitions, but she was told to report straight to the helipad.

"What is taking him so long." Puppy complained bitterly as she tapped her foot.

She was also the only one with her weapon on her, holstered over her back, because she had reported right from the firing range.

"The Commander takes his time; he's probably got a big mission for us." Eagleeye said with a chuckle.

"Yea I hear ya brother, but how come we aint here with our gear?" T-Rex asked. "Only Puppy got her stuff, and that's cause she was at the range with us!"

"Be patient, he has his reasons." Hawkeye said quietly.

" **I agree… but it is weird…"** Mercy hissed as she looked around, expecting the Commander to float in at any moment.

As if on cue two things happened, first as expected the Commander floated in from the door to their left. The second thing, and it was unexpected, was the helipad lowering down from the roof of the Avenger.

Mercy never paid much attention to the Avenger's flight status because she rarely felt it moving unless it was landing, but they had been landed the entire time. Which begged the question of why the Skyranger was out when none of the squads were on a mission right now.

 _[Hello there Sharks, sorry I called you here.]_ He said as he floated over to them. _[But I figured you might be interested in meeting the Sniper who saved Mercy during the Widow operation.]_

" **The sniper, you mean the voice who spoke to us on the communicators?"** Mercy hissed in amazement.

During the mission they had all heard a female voice say calmly, _**{One shot… one kill…}**_ including the statement, _**{Whatever… I'm going to pick up my target.}**_ before they closed the communication link.

She had yet to hear from her again, but she owed this 'Agent 007' as the Commander referred to her as her life.

They watched as the lift lowered and brought the Skyranger down, and moments later the vessel's rear door opened. As it lowered they watched what appeared to be a woman, almost in her late forties if she were to judge human aging standards, wearing civilian clothes and an eyepatch over her left eye. Her hair was very dirty brown and had streaks of silver in it, and her face showed obvious signs of wrinkles appearing, and her eyes had deep 'bags' as she knew them called by.

Strapped to her back was what appeared to be a plasma sniper rifle, similar to what they retrieved from XCOM HQ, but it looked very modified to her. The weapon's barrel had been extended by almost half of its original length, there were other attachments on the side that looked out of place, there appeared to be some other attachment like a stand halfway along the weapon, and the scope was smaller in height but twice as long in length.

Strapped to her waist was a laser pistol, and it too looked to be modified, with a longer barrel and other various attachments that she could not recognize.

Yet it was the Agent's eye that caught her attention, as the woman stared at her with it while she stepped off of the Skyranger. Then as she got off the Skyranger she put her weapons on the ground, walked up before the Commander and saluted him.

"Agent 007, Sniper Class, reporting for active duty sir!" She said in bored voice.

 _[Welcome aboard the Avenger, Agent 007.]_ He replied calmly.

"Howdy, how's it going?" Puppy piped up.

Agent 007 looked over to them and said in a frustrated tone, "You, Agent, what are you doing with 'that' on deck?" She asked, looking directly at Puppy and her weapon.

"Oh, this, I was just…" Puppy tried to answer before she was interrupted.

"Rule seventeen B paragraph seven subsection six, all weapons unless in use at the testing range or if the agent in question is about to go on a mission, must remain in the armory or weapon's locker, unless the Agent has a permit to carry it at all times or unless that agent is a Bridge Officer." She recited as she walked over, grabbed the rifle from her back, and expertly spun it so that it rested on her shoulder while also removing the charging pack for it. "For this breach of protocol you're going to mop the entire floor of the Skyranger helipad until its clean."

"Wha… you can't just pull rank on me 'Rookie!" Puppy yelled as she pointed at her new Corporal badge. "I was just promoted to Corporal, I outrank you!"

Mercy was outright surprised at this behavior, since when did 'anyone' have the nerve to perform an action like that. This agent was barely on the ship for more than two minutes and she was ordering her squad member like the Commander?

"I'll expect the helipad mopped by tomorrow morning or you'll be on latrine duty." Agent 007 said sternly as she took the rifle and planted it among her own weapons on the floor.

"Commander, you aren't just going to let her…" Puppy said before she went silent.

It wasn't a surprise really, as the Commander was handing said Agent 007 a 'Colonel' rank badge with several 'honor' medals attached to it, which caused her to go silent. _[I'm sorry, I had a new badge made for you in case you lost your old one.]_ He said politely, ignoring the looks of astonishment on everyone's faces. _[You'll find your position has already been logged into our systems, you have full rights of the ship, your room is several floors down and has a picture of the number seven on it. I've also alerted the bar to expect you.]_

"Good to know, and thank you for the badge sir." She said calmly. "Permission to speak to the squad here, I want to meet them properly."

 _[Go ahead.]_ He said warmly.

Agent 007 nodded as she clasped her hands behind her and walked over to them, with some of them still wearing dumbfounded expressions. "Agent, what's your designated name, rank and class?" She asked Puppy.

Puppy was quiet as Mercy watched the young agent being addressed by a 'superior' officer, before she grudgingly answered, "Puppy… I'm Agent Puppy, Technician class, rank Corporal."

"I see, from now on Agent Puppy, I expect you to be a little more disciplined while on active duty." Agent 007 said with a frown. "I have no idea 'why' the Commander would even let a 'child' on board this ship, let alone allow you to join our organization, but where I come from we have a thing called 'protocol' that I expect you to adhere to. If you're an XCOM Agent then I expect you to follow protocol from here on out, is that understood?"

"Yes… 'ma'am'." Puppy answered with a low grunt.

"I didn't quite hear that."

"I said, 'Yes ma'am'." Puppy answered more loudly this time.

The older female agent nodded and walked over to T-Rex next and eyed him. "Name Agent?" She asked.

"Agent T-Rex ma'am, Grenadier class, rank Lieutenant." T-Rex answered instantly.

"I see… very well then, carry on." She said with a smile before moving on to Falcon. "Name?"

"Falcon, Psi Operative, rank Magus." Falcon answered politely.

"Understood, nice to meet you." She said, before moving on to Sharptooth next. "Your name?"

"Agent Sharptooth, Ranger Class, rank Colonel." Sharptooth answered in a respectful tone.

"If I recall, you were the only surviving operative that extracted the Commander five years ago, besides Central Officer Bradford." Agent 007 declared.

"That is true ma'am."

"I'm sorry about your fellow operatives, but at least they completed their mission." She said sadly, before moving on to Hawkeye next. "Your name?"

"Agent Hawkeye, Ranger Class, rank Colonel." Hawkeye answered.

"You look familiar… were you a hawk handler before you joined XCOM?" She asked curiously.

Mercy glanced at Hawkeye and could see the surprise evident on his face, nevertheless he answered her question instantly. "Yes ma'am, I was a bird handler… I used to handle…"

"Don't tell me, I already know, protocol forbids us from speaking of our past lives prior to joining XCOM." She interrupted with a smile. "I will speak frankly… I am sorry about the loss of your bird, she was a beauty and a rare species of the sky that our planet has left. I often saw such species while I was out and about."

She nodded at Hawkeye to signal that she had finished with him and finally moved to stand before 'her', and this time Mercy could see deep into her one eye. She could see past the faint hazel brown was a look of pure distrust. Her frown only enhanced her look as she stared into her, and she was watching her with the same focus that Hawkeye showed on the field.

Only one other individual could match that stare, and that had been the genetic soldier Perce.

"I already know about you, but humor me… 'Viper'… name, class and rank?" She asked her quietly.

She gulped slightly as she stared at the superior officer human, whom though she was taller by only a few inches, seemed to make her feel five times smaller with her stare and sheer unwavering lack of fear. **"Mercy… Agent Mercy… Cobra class, rank Sergeant."** She hissed nervously.

007 raised her eyebrow without ever losing that look of distrust. "I'm going to speak freely, is that understood Agent 'Mercy'?" She asked.

" **Yes 'ma'am'."** She answered.

"Let me make things very clear between you and me 'Mercy'… I don't trust you." She said calmly. "There's a little thing I don't like about traitors; they always turn on you when you need them most. I've had you in my sights twice now… and I restrained myself from pulling the trigger for two reasons… the first, you're wearing that uniform. And the second, the Commander told me you're on 'our' side."

She stepped closer so she looked even more intimidating, and for her it was working. "I will protect my 'family' with everything I have, and that family includes 'you'. But make no mistake… there's a little saying about Hell that we humans have that you aliens don't. The deepest circle of hell is reserved for 'betrayers' and 'mutineers'. And guess which one 'you' fall under." She leaned even closer so Mercy could hear her because now her voice was barely louder than a whisper. "Once you turn traitor, you're always marked a 'traitor', regardless of which side you choose. And you best pray 'we' win, because if 'they' do… you'll suffer even worse than if you were loyal and 'we' had won. And don't think of betraying 'us' now that we trust you… because if I find out you turned on us, for any reason, cowardice or otherwise…"

She reached into her shirt, and pulled out a necklace that ringed her neck and looked to be at least eight feet in length. It was so long that it had to be wrapped around her neck three times just to keep it from hanging below her chest and under her shirt. But it was the fact that her necklace was comprised of 'teeth' that shocked her, as she easily recognized the teeth on the necklace. They were the teeth belonging to nearly every single species that the Elders controlled.

"Your tooth will be the last one I put on this necklace… before Advent kills me… is that clear?" She asked politely.

Mercy nodded as she saw many Berserker teeth on the necklace. **"Very clear…"**

Agent 007 nodded as she put the teeth necklace back beneath her shirt. "Once a traitor, always a traitor… and only a 'traitor's death' do they deserve…" She recited, before she moved on to Eagleeye now. "Name?"

"Agent Eagleeye, Technician class, rank Colonel." He said.

"Hmpf…" She muttered before moving to turn away.

"Permission to speak freely?" He asked.

Agent 007 turned around and nodded. "You may."

"It's nice to see you again Agent 007, been over twenty-five years since we last saw each other." He said. "I thought you were dead after all this time… I'm happy to know your still alive."

Agent 007 nodded at him before she smiled. "You're still too fat Eagleeye." She said bluntly, before turning away. "Before I forget, here you go Commander, a parting gift from Agent 'Viper'."

They all watched as she reached into her pants' leg pocket and pulled out a small case and presented it to the Commander.

"All the badges of the thirty-two Covert Operatives you hired, minus my own." She said as she held up a torn and dirty badge, with the number 7 on it, surrounded by a crosshair. "I'll have my badge delivered to you at my death so you'll have a complete set Commander."

 _[I hope that doesn't come for a while…]_ He said as he took the case from her. _[Come, I've got Central Bradford waiting in my room to debrief you on the situation.]_

With that the two walked away, leaving the Sharks in the landing bay.

"Intimidates everyone, not afraid to speak her mind, puts Puppy in her place… I like her already." Sharptooth said with a chuckle. "Sorry Eagleeye, better luck next girl."

"As if, did you see the way she turned her back to me without hesitation?" Eagleeye chuckled heartily. "She's crazy about me!"

"She seriously does not expect me to clean up mop up the helipad?" Puppy asked as Mercy and the other Sharks began leaving.

Moments later one of the deck hands that had been offloading boxes came over to them, holding a mop. "Colonel Agent 007 told me you're to mop up the helipad Agent Puppy." He said.

"I… hate… her…" Puppy growled as she took the mop.

(Commander's PoV)

As they left the Sharks to do whatever they wanted to do, and while Puppy cleaned the helipad, he and Agent 007 went up to his room where Central, Shen, and Tygan were waiting.

Once the introductions were out of the way, they began discussing the issue.

"So that's the problem, with this new resurgence of Exalt, we have two enemies to deal with." Bradford said. "They also sent us 'this' message through the resistance frequency."

They all turned to look at the screen and saw the Exalt insignia over a scratchy video feed. _{To the XCOM agency, make no mistake, while we have had our differences, we face a common enemy now.}_ The synthetic voice said. _{This is not the time for us to be adversaries… for as 'we' have learned, the greatest weapon in the universe is knowledge… and now that 'we' have shed our kin's blood for your 'commander', you owe 'us'… We will be in touch should we require your 'assistance'…}_

With that the feed ended. "As much as I wouldn't mind some help against Advent, I do not like the idea of teaming up with them." Shen said.

"It isn't much of a teamwork Shen, more of a forced cooperative adventure." Tygan said politely. "But still, I would not trust this Exalt. There is no telling why they have resurfaced, or what they were after with the Commander."

 _[I don't like it either, but they do make a statement, I do owe them.]_ He said. _[I hate being in debt to anyone, especially old enemies. Do you have any ideas as to why Exalt would be up and about 007?]_

"Not a clue, the information I had suggest Exalt worshipped the aliens, or at least idealized with what they were doing for humanity." She said quietly as she read the reports thoroughly. "I don't even want to guess the logistics necessary to coordinate so many attacks. These reports indicate multiple attacks on various Advent facilities across the globe, most notably 'cloning' facilities. Damage is minimal and the attacks are quick and efficient, almost on par with XCOM's level of efficiency and speed. Problem is the facilities are still mostly standing, so either they're looking for something or they've got other plans in mind."

"Regardless, what we need to do is figure out what to do with Exalt now, do we let them roam free, or exterminate them once and for all. Commander?" Central asked him.

He looked at Bradford and then looked at the reports as well, before he made his decision.

 _[For now, leave them be, we have enough troubles with Advent, once we deal with Advent we can turn our attention to Exalt if need be. It looks like Exalt is dealing with Advent in their own way, this actually helps 'us' out as well. Without the use of its mechanical forces, Advent's ability to outnumber is diminishing. If they lose their ability to clone forces, then they'll run out of soldiers to fight with.]_

"But how long before they start using the human population to deal with us?" Shen asked worriedly.

"Hopefully long enough for us to get the last bit of evidence we need to bring down Advent once and for all." Central said.

"Yes, with the lack of 'Codex's' to extract information from, we have had very little success in getting the Psionic Gate to function. While we have a way to open the door, we still have no clue as to the 'key' we require to open the door fully." Tygan said.

 _[And with the virus infecting Advent's systems… they aren't going to let a Codex walk about freely.]_ He said bitterly. _[A brilliant way to strike at Advent's military… but it leaves very little room for intelligence gathering… sorry Tygan.]_

"It sure as hell is giving them hell, but it's made my job a lot easier after the stunt you pulled." Agent 007 said with a chuckle. "Funny thing I noticed though, there have been more 'Vipers' and 'Sectoids', not to mention 'Mutons' and everything else not mechanical."

"Most likely clones, hence why Exalt is targeting the cloning facilities." Bradford said. "So Commander, what's our next move?"

He looked at them all watching him. _[I have contacts to contact… we need a new target to hit…]_


	24. Chapter 24

{Incoming Transmission. . . Connection Established}

{Clearance Level 10 Established. . . Commander's Eyes Only Protocol Engaged . . .}

{Beginning Transmission . . .}

{I HE BGN MVIG Y FORS IN PRERN F STAGE FOUR F OR PAN, MST F M DATERS RE IN POSITION, I WL SND A MSGR WH DELS!}

{Transmission Terminated. . . Erasing Records . . .}

=Chapter 24, The Bud Blooms=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"I have to admit, for an old woman turning fifty, Agent 007 sure knows how to handle a tight spot." Hawkeye said as he and the rest of the Sharks, plus the Gamma Raptors watched the latest mission unfolding on the screen.

The Commander had taken the Water Dragons out for a mission they just got that morning, the objectives were straightforward, protecting a device someone had planted in a building while it downloaded data from the Advent Network. Unfortunately, Advent had called in some of their heaviest hitting biological units to destroy it, hence why the Water Dragons were in there.

But instead of just the six Water Dragons, he had also brought along the sniping abilities of Agent 007, who had climbed up onto the nearest four story building and was now providing supporting fire for the Dragons as they laid down the hurt on Advent's forces attacking the device's location.

"You know… I take back what I said about her." Sharptooth said as the Commander's vision turned to 007, just as she was being given the order to Headshot a Berserker. "I don't like her… I'm officially a lesbian for her…"

Everyone bust out laughing at the Gamma Raptors' table at that comment, but it was a well warranted comment, as two seconds later, 007 fired off a headshot on the Berserker, just as it was about to pound Nidhug into the ground. Instantly the plasma bolt pummeled 'through' the Berserker's head, and brought him down in one single shot.

"Hands off her Sharptooth, that old lady is mine!" Lillith a fellow Ranger specializing in midrange combat from the Gamma Raptors yelled.

"You and me, one on one, we'll decide who gets her!" Sharptooth countered.

"Jeez, every single shot she hits is a headshot, and an instant kill?" Puppy gaped as three Troopers began trading shots with the Water Dragons now, who were at least over twenty yards away from where 007 was stationed. "Why does she wait so long to fire? The Water Dragons have their hands full with all the Troopers, she's only targeting the Officers and the Berserkers."

"Yea, the Big 'C' is leavin the grunts and the shield idiots to the Dragons." T-Rex stated.

"It's not her fault she takes so long to fire; her weapon isn't the same as ours." Eagleeye said as the Commander watched 007 reloading her weapon and watching the fight going on. "007's weapon is a custom model she upgraded from the base Plasma Sniper Rifle we had in the old days. It's been so heavily modified that it can only fire a single shot every two minutes, but because it's so heavily modified it's so powerful that it can kill almost anything not protected by Sectopod armor."

" **That sounds like something the Commander should make for all of his long ranged soldiers?"** Mercy asked in astonishment, as an Advent Transport came zooming in with reinforcements, dropping off another pair of Mutons and another Berserker.

"Is it too late to change class training to become a Sharpshooter?" Puppy asked.

 _{This looks like the last of the reinforcements Commander, we just need to protect the transmitter a little more!}_ Central said on the screen.

As they watched the Berserker made a beeline for the transmitter within the badly damaged building that two of the Dragons were laying down Suppression Fire from. Just before it could reach the Device or smash 'through' it to reach the Dragons taking cover, a plasma bolt shot through its head and it fell in a heap before touching the building.

"She got another one… why didn't the Commander bring her on board sooner?" Harpy asked from the Gamma Raptors. "It takes us the combined firepower of three people sometimes to kill one of those things, and she gets them in one shot?"

"She sure is nice to have on our team." Hawkeye said as the Dragons began finishing off the Troopers.

Only one Officer remained with the Mutons, and it was obvious the Officer was beginning to panic.

The Mutons were taking cover to try and avoid 007's vision, but even as the Officer hid within a building with them, the Commander ordered one of the Dragons to grenade the wall. It exploded and they saw that the Officer that had taken refuge with one of the Mutons behind an office desk in the Gene Therapy Clinic. Seconds later the Officer was hit by yet 'another' plasma bolt, this one firing through a wall and the desk protecting him.

After the Officer fell, the remaining two Mutons were easily dispatched, and the data was downloaded by one of the Dragons before they called in the Skyranger for Evac.

"Six kills, one mission, all of them Berserkers or Officers." Eagleeye said. "All in all, a normal mission for 007."

"How big of a kill count does she have?" Puppy asked as they watched the dragons boarding the Skyranger before the screen turned off.

"Well over two hundred based on the teeth she's got around her neck, plus the thirty-seven from when she was a Covert Operative." Eagleeye chuckled. "Guess that's what you get for calling her a 'rookie' Puppy."

"Hey, I didn't know she was a colonel!" Puppy complained bitterly while everyone began getting up to stretch and go to their rooms. "With three medal honors to boot… how was I to know that, we only met her for two minutes."

While everyone began leaving to head toward their various squad rooms, or in Sharptooth's and some of the other adults, heading to the bar downstairs, he and Mercy trailed behind everyone else and went a separate path.

Heading 'up' the staircase toward the upper deck of the Avenger.

"Commander sure has been busy these last few days." He commented to the Viper. "Yesterday he took the Gamma Raptors out to hit a Gene Therapy Clinic for data download, today protecting a transmitter that was downloading data from the Advent Network near a Gene Therapy Clinic."

(Mercy's PoV)

" **We have been busy yes…"** She hissed to him as they continued to climb up the staircase.

They had indeed been busy, the resistance had been gaining new momentum following several 'mysterious' terrorist attacks on Gene Therapy Clinics and other Advent controlled facilities, notably away from major civilian centers. The news media had reported that strange 'symbols' had been painted, apparently in alien blood, along the walls of every clinic they have hit.

Along with the symbols painted, the words 'Scientia Potentia Est', 'Ultionem Tradidit', and 'Ex Libertate Proditio', which she recently was told translated to 'Knowledge is Power', 'Vengeance for the Betrayed', and 'From betrayal comes Freedom'.

" **Why Exalt hitting so many therapy clinics?"** She asked Hawkeye as they reached the top of the staircase. **"What they gain by attacking them?"**

"I wouldn't know, they leave little damage to the places they hit, but they sure leave a big message behind." He answered.

She nodded as they headed toward the small door to the roof of the Avenger. After a few minutes Hawkeye opened the door and they breathed the fresh cool air of their home base area in the North American region, several miles away from the 'Nest'.

They had set down in this region to perform an operation, the very one she and everyone had just watched play out, and they had finally gotten time to rest, relax, or in their case, what she has been waiting and wanting to experience for a long time now.

Have a date.

"Well Mercy, here we are, the top of the Avenger…" Hawkeye said as he closed the door behind them and she saw the scale of the ship from the upper deck.

" **It very big…"** She hissed in astonishment, not once noticing just how 'vast' the former alien vessel was.

She could see the deck where the Skyranger was to land before being lowered down, just sitting there waiting for the craft to return and dock. But they didn't just come up here to admire the vessel's size, no they were here because she had asked to do, in her words, 'what humans do on a date'.

So that day, much later in the day, when the Commander had taken the Water Dragons and 007 onto their latest mission, and it was clear they would not be back before nightfall, Hawk had asked as the rest of the Sharks went to the mess hall to watch the mission unfold if she would be interested in watching the sunset with him. She eagerly accepted, seeing this as a good chance to experience how humans went about initiating mating rituals.

Or at least, she hoped this was a step in that direction.

" **So how do we watch sun set?"** She asked curiously as she saw the sun was already beginning to set.

"Well, we just basically sit here and watch the sun setting." He said, already taking a seat and sitting cross legged in the direction of the sun.

Nodding in understanding she followed his example and coiled her lower body and tail closer to the ground, before letting it lay outward and lean on the side of the section of the ship they had just exited from.

Then they simply sat there in silence for a few minutes, simply watching the sun setting together, though in her chest her heart was beating more rapidly than normal. This was the closest she had ever been to him outside of a mission, in such a private moment as well, and she trying her hardest not to ruin the mood or push it too far too fast.

"I guess you don't get to watch too many sunsets do you?" He asked her quietly.

She looked over at him and saw a soft expression on his face, and she nodded to answer his question. **"No… I do not…"** She hissed back softly.

She looked back at the setting sun and stared at it, admiring how this planet's sun seemed so beautiful to her, with all of the colors it possessed as it set on this section of the world. There was so much orange and yellow, with red mixed in. The sky itself was also a vast array of colors, constantly changing from blue to purple, red and orange, slowly changing to the night sky that was fast approaching.

" **Your world has beautiful sky… beautiful sun…"** She hissed as the sun slowly set. **"I never notice it before… never had chance to see it like this…"**

"What 'did' you do before all this, before you joined up with us?" He asked her.

She sighed and lifted her hand to look at the softer scales on the back of it, remembering her past life before she joined XCOM. **"I was just a surveyor… I studied planet, searched for new venom samples… catalogued all I found at my Hierarch Mother's request."** She hissed sadly. **"I was never important to the Elders… just another soldier… another pawn for them. I was ordered, like my other sisters, to fight to death should I encounter any resistance forces… but it wasn't until that day we met, when you and Commander saw me in that clinic… that I had ever 'seen' a resistance soldier."**

"So that's why you were so frightened when we met?" He asked.

She nodded, remembering her terror, her fear as she watched Hawkeye killing three Advent Troopers singlehanded. **"You frightened me… I knew the resistance was strong… and I feared I would die that day…"** She looked over at him with a sad expression, remembering how they had aimed weapons at each other. **"I was prepared to fight, to die as the Elders instructed… but I didn't 'want' to die… I just wanted to live. I had only gone to that clinic to test venom samples, why must I die because I was in wrong place at wrong time? That was why I took the chance your Commander offered me… at least I had a chance to live."**

They sat in silence again and watched the sun setting again, it was just starting to begin its final descent on the horizon. The sky had changed to a purple and dark blue now; the stars were beginning to appear.

It was truly a beautiful sight; one she had never seen in her entire life.

" **Your world is beautiful Hawkeye…"** She hissed warmly. **"It is better than my world… at least, I think it better."**

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"What is your world like?" He asked her, not ever knowing what another world was like besides Earth.

Mercy looked at him before looking at where the sun had set in the distance.

" **It is… desert like… very sandy… very rocky… and very warm."** She hissed. **"My Hierarch Mother often told it to me when I asked about it when I was younger. At least that's what she 'says' it looked like, from what she was told by 'her' Hierarch Mother."**

"Is she your real mother?" He asked her, seeing a possible connection between them since they looked very similar.

Mercy shook her head. **"I don't know who my egg mother is."** She replied. **"My Hierarch Mother is my species' figurative mother. Every female is her 'daughter', every male her 'son', and she guides us in how we are to live and what we are to strive for. If she wanted us to do something, we will do it, for she is our guiding principle in our lives."**

"You call her a Hierarch 'Mother', does that mean there's a 'Father' among our species?" He asked.

He knew about male Vipers now, having seen one in the flesh, but he didn't seem like a Hierarch 'Father' like the same rank as the Mother. He seemed more like a high ranking 'male'.

" **There has not been a Hierarch 'Father' since our current 'Mother' attained the position to my knowledge. The closest rank to that position would be a 'King'. Our King has complete control of our species, his word is our law, and his will is absolute to all other's. But there has not been one for a long time since the Elders' uplifted our species… I guess the proper term is 'enslaved' us now that I think about it."**

He looked at Mercy and saw the saddened look on her face as her tail slid from side to side.

"You want to free your species now, don't you?" He asked her.

She nodded as she looked at him, and he swore he could see a tear starting to break. **"My sisters are slaves, pawns of the Elders, we are useless to them, only fit to be used as soldiers. And they do not even care or notice… as long as my Hierarch Mother is loyal to them then so are my sisters and brothers. Every day, your resistance kills us even as we kill you."** She looked down at the Avenger's hull with a sad sigh. **"And as long as we resist Advent, we will have no choice but to kill more of them. 'I'… will have no choice… but to kill more of them eventually."**

For a few minutes they sat in silence again before he reached over and gripped her hand that was sitting in what 'would' have been her lap, had she had legs. "Maybe we can convince others to join us, not every Viper could be loyal to the Elders." He said warmly.

She gripped his hand back and smiled softly at him, before nodding in agreement. **"Perhaps… what was life like for you, before you joined XCOM?"**

He didn't let go of her hand but he did look up at the night sky, thinking long and hard about his life back then.

"Well, it was like I told you, I was a Hawk handler before I joined XCOM. It was during the first ten years or so of the Advent Administration's rule, the resistance was slowly being pushed back, and cities were being established." He said. "I was a mere Hawk handler, mostly teaching kids how Hawks lived with my bird 'Falcor'. I would do little demonstrations with Falcor in fields near the Advent City I lived near. He wore a special hood that had a built in camera which recoded what he saw for people to see on a view screen we had. It was how people saw how Hawks hunted from 'their' point of view."

He missed his pal Falcor, deeply missed his bird. He remembered raising the bird and training him since he was only a few years old. He trained him to return at a certain whistle call, to hunt using the whistle, even flying paths with the whistle.

"Then one day, years before I joined the resistance, I decided to hunt with Falcor a little closer to the city. It was a normal day, the same routine as usual, we did our normal flight runs, I was explaining about how Hawks lived and hunted to some kids. Near where Falcor was meant to hunt a patrol of Advent Troopers were on patrol with an Officer… looking for resistance soldiers."

He remembered that day very well, he had Falcor wear his hood to record footage of how he hunted from his perspective. It was the worst mistake, the worst decision, he had ever made in his life. Because he had chosen to have Falcor wear that hood…

"Then… I told everyone to watch the screen, and sent Falcor off to hunt in the nearby field, where the Advent Troopers were stationed." He said quietly. "Off he flew, just like he always did, and I had all the kids watching the screen. Then, just as the Advent forces came into view, the Officer saw the hood Falcor wore, and yelled something in their language… pointed at Falcor as he flew over them. Then seconds later… I watch as my bird gets shot… from 'his' perspective."

He felt Mercy lean closer to him and felt her tail slide over his legs, and even felt her hand squeezing his just a little gentler. **I'm sorry for your loss…"** She hissed sadly.

"He wasn't even killed instantly… they shot his wings first." He whispered, remembering watching as his bird landed, screeching in pain, before seconds later an Advent Soldier fired point blank into Falcor's face.

Only then did the screen become static.

"I was told; it was to 'Protect Advent's Citizens'." He whispered. "A bird like mine had been spotted spying for the Terrorists. It was a lie of course… the resistance used 'mechanical' birds, drones disguised as birds, to spy on Advent. But did that matter, not to those Advent clones. I tried to protest, to complain, to demand justice against the Officer who ordered the death of my innocent bird. But all I got was people believing 'I' was a spy against Advent, everyone believed Advent's lies, nobody believed 'me'."

" **And that is why you fight…"** She hissed softly. **"Advent hurt you… and you still hurt now?"**

"The pain never goes away Mercy… even after all this time…" He answered. "If that's one thing humans can be known for… it's that we never know when to let grudges go. If anyone hurts us, we never forget it, and we don't stop until we pay them back in full. Falcor was innocent, he did nothing wrong, didn't even understand why he was being shot at. All he knew, at the time, was I gave him the signal to go hunting"

They both sat in silence before he saw a shimmer in the far distance, and saw that it was the Skyranger making its way toward the Avenger.

"Time to start heading in Mercy, quiet time is over." He whispered with a grunt.

" **I see…"** She hissed softly as they both got up. **"When can we uh… do this again?"**

He glanced at their hands still locked together and sighed again. "I don't know, when the Commander decides we aren't needed for a mission perhaps?"

" **I uh… hope that is soon."** She replied as they both headed inside, only letting go of each other's hands when they both walked through the door.

As they both made their way downstairs and heard the Skyranger landing on the upper deck, he thought about their little 'date' as it was. He knew that the crew was going to eventually notice him and Mercy were showing more interest in each other these days, it wouldn't be long before someone started talking.

 _*I just hope that Puppy doesn't start talking about it, she can't respect anyone's privacy if her life depended on it!*_

(Commander's PoV)

He floated into Shen's Engineering room silently as she and Tygan were busy examining the Seeker that they had 'acquired' in his absence leading them.

"Alright, let's see how this program works…" Shen said as she tapped her screen, completely involved with her work that she didn't notice him floating in.

Seconds later the Seeker extended one of its tendrils and tried to grab Rover floating in front of it, missing him by several inches.

"Dammit, still not the cloaking program!" Shen complained as she smacked her fist on the table.

 _[For all our sake, I hope you don't break it before you figure out how to work it.]_ He commented.

"Commander!" Shen said in surprise. "I didn't hear you entering, apologies, as you can see we're still trying to get this thing repaired."

 _[It's alright, what have you found out?]_ He asked the two.

"Well Commander, despite it being 'outdated' by Advent's standards, this Seeker is still one of the most advanced pieces of engineering that we have ever encountered." Tygan said professionally. "Though we have yet to figure out how to get it to cloak, I have made some interesting discoveries in the gaseous anomalies that it uses to create its 'cloaking' abilities. With your approval, I can begin researching ways to employ this 'cloaking' capability for our forces in the field, either in terms of a new armor we can possibly fabricate, or even a more 'perfected' version of the Ghost Grenades we recovered from XCOM HQ."

 _[What's wrong with those grenades, they work well despite being twenty years old?]_ He asked curiously.

"Simple capabilities and life expectancy, you see, despite being preserved for twenty years, their effects have grown weak over the years. Before the charge of the grenade lasted for several minutes, now they can barely work for over a full minute, and that's without the obvious blurring effect they give off. Furthermore, with Advent's newer Chryssalid design, the Ghost Grenades we recovered would be rendered 'ineffective' if we tried to use them, with their ability to detect bioelectric signals. With Advent unable to employ its mechanical forces, I doubt it will be long before we start seeing more of those creatures employed."

 _[I see, just cause it's old doesn't mean it's good…]_ He commented as he looked at the Seeker. _[So what are you planning to do with this thing?]_

"Well sir, once I finish repairing it, I plan on updating its AI so we can use it in the field." She said eagerly. "We can use it as an infiltration unit, allowing us to access areas of Advent that we never previously could. While I can't build additional units, I can upgrade 'this' one for whatever needs we might require of it."

 _[I see, what have you got in mind Shen?]_ He asked curiously.

"Its weapons systems are rather bland compared to its cloaking and maneuverability, so I'll start there, upgrading its primary weapon so it can fight at a distance if necessary. Unlike its current weapon design, I'll use part of SHIV's weapons systems to augment it." She tapped her pad and pulled up a schematic of SHIV's various weapon schematics for him to see. "It won't be easy fusing the two together together, but then again getting our tech to work with the Alien's has never been easy. Still, if I can get this to work, you'll be quite impressed with the results!"

 _[Alright then, keep at it, in the meantime Tygan, I want you to get to work on those new armor types, we might have need of them in the future.]_

"At once Commander, I'll inform you when I have something…" Tygan said.

With that he left the two to continue working on the Seeker and headed up to the bridge where Central was already analyzing the data they had recovered from the mission.

Once on the bridge he saw various data being displayed on the hologlobe, with Central doing as expected, analyzing the data for any uses.

 _[So did you find anything good?]_ He asked Central.

"We just finished analyzing the data, one piece wasn't very well decrypted, the other one took us a while to decode and crack." He said as he brought up the globe and had it center on an area near their location. "We got two possible targets we can hit Commander, on appears to be a heavy weapon's depot, currently holding some heavy armaments and munitions. Based on some other data we decrypted, as well as resistance information from both within and outside, the depot appears to be isolated and storing some sort of new 'Weapons Systems' being tested. The data we recovered indicates the weapons go by the name of E.C 1 and C.X. 2, but other than that we have no idea what they are."

He looked at the depot on the screen and saw the heavily fortified defenses it had, the Depot alone would take a crack squad to break. With all of the defensive turrets and guards stationed there, it wasn't going to be an easy job. Breaking in would be near impossible without a lot of firepower, and locating whatever these two weapons were would be harder still without accurate information.

 _[And the other piece?]_ He asked.

"Just something about a courier transporting non-essential 'information' to a nearby Advent City tomorrow, something about an announcement pertaining to one of the old abandoned living centers left over from the war." Central said as he brought up the other data. "Only thing special about it was that it was ordered by one 'Hierarch Mother'."

This caught his attention as he looked at the courier mission prospect. The courier was going to transport it via along one of the highways between two of the Advent Cities, the guard was going to be extremely light, only consisting of two squads of Advent Troopers. They weren't even the elite models, not even an Officer would be with them.

 _[How 'hard' was it to crack the decryption of that data?]_ He asked.

"Hardly was any effort, took the computer all of two minutes to finish it, it even gave us the time and route the Courier is going to take." He chuckled. "It's obvious what we should do Commander, attacking that depot would cripple Advent's military, the Depot carries ten percent of their stored weapons and munitions in the entire North American Region. We take it down and we hit em even harder than we did before, keep wearing em out like you planned it."

 _[Yes… unless…]_ He thought quietly as he examined the data. _[Unless she 'wants' us to do that…]_

"Commander?" Central asked.

 _[Isn't it weird how these two pieces of data show up Central?]_ He asked. _[One is heavily encrypted, talks about a vital weapons storage for Advent, with highly secretive weapons systems being stored and tested there. The other, barely hidden, obviously light, and provokes no possible value as a target for us. It even gives us the Courier's exact path and car identification. It's almost like she 'wants' us to go after the depot.]_

"Commander, I think you may be looking into it too much." He said calmly. "If the courier contains non-sensitive data, why would we attack it if there's no value to be gained?"

 _[Because of one simple fact, the Courier is being ordered by the Hierarch Mother herself.]_ He responded. _[It could have been ordered by any low ranking official, but this one was directed by the Hierarch Mother herself!]_

He looked at the courier data, the courier was going to be transported by an 'unarmed' individual. Whoever was carrying this data was not anyone special, just a 'messenger' carrying the data.

 _[We're hitting that courier tomorrow, prepare a raid time and area so we can hit the vehicle with minimal risk to civilians and that will provide us as much time as we can before they can reinforce!]_ He ordered.

"Are you absolutely positive sir, if we choose to go after the courier this data we have on the depot will be outdated, we won't be able to hit this depot again in the near future until we can find out more about it." Central asked.

 _[I've made my decision Central, just trust me on this.]_ He said calmly as he left the bridge.

Not five minutes after he left the bridge he stopped floating and lifted his metal claw to look at it.

 _[I hope I'm right about this… because if I were in 'her' position… this would be just one step in the direction of a trap in the making…]_

(Hierarch Mother's PoV)

" **Have you finished scouting the town?"** She asked her daughters as she read various reports.

" **Yes Hierarch Mother, we can begin as soon as you give the word!"** Netra said proudly.

She nodded and tapped on another datapad and began reading some new reports regarding the information 'stolen' and recovered from the gene clinics, and it made her hiss in anger as she read the files. Then she looked at Netra who was wearing a confused expression.

" **Very well, in the morning you are to take this data to the city of New Chicago!"** She hissed to the Neonate Netra, handing her a datapad. **"From there, you will deliver it and then proceed to the city of New Springfield, then you shall return here."**

" **But… Hierarch Mother, wasn't this route the same route the resistance forces took from the database earlier?"** The young Viper hissed worriedly. **"If the resistance knows, they will surely attack if we keep to the plan!"**

" **Rest my daughter… they will not harm you, your mission is far too… inconsequential… to 'their' plans."** She hissed softly, patting her on her shoulder. **"They will no doubt, attack the far more valuable target they discovered, and when they do… we will be waiting to… 'greet' them! Trust me, you will be very safe."**

Netra, still with mostly blue scales looked at the data and nodded, before leaving to return to her quarters to get some rest. After she left one of her personal guards entered and glanced at the door Netra just left.

" **Are you sure it is wise my Hierarch?"** She asked quietly.

She grinned back at her daughter before nodding. **"She will no doubt be attacked, and when she is… she will be captured, and interrogated by the Commander."** She hissed confidently. **"Knowing my mentor, he has already seen through my… deception… and will hit Netra's convoy over the depot. It's exactly what 'I' would do in 'his' position… and I know that he will expect a trap…"** She then chuckled as she remembered a famous quote. **"The Lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the Fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a Fox to recognize traps, and a Lion to frighten wolves."**

" **Oh my mentor… I have baited my trap and the wolves are waiting for you, now we find out if you are a Fox… or a Lion~."**


	25. Chapter 25

{Incoming Transmission. . . Connection Established}

{Lion and Traps. . . Fox and Wolves. . .}

{Step into my parlor, said spider to fly. . .}

{Dog looks down when they do wrong, but Snake looks you right in eyes. . .}

{Keep the cheese, I just want out of maze. . . said the rat. . .}

{Hope is a seductive silver dagger. . . it is double edged sword. . .}

{Just remember those little sayings. . .}

{End of Transmission}

=Chapter 25, A Desperate Plan=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

' _Why did she have to open her big mouth?'_ He thought as he listened to the mission briefing.

 _{Resistance forces hit a small convoy of Advent forces guarding a courier traveling along one of the new Highway systems in place. Half an hour after the convoy was hit we lost contact with the forces and have received word they fled as per our instructions. The convoy of three vehicles is currently stuck on the highway pending the arrival of additional forces and vehicles.}_ Central told them as they all sat in the Skyranger, looking at the screen showing an image of a set of damaged vehicles parked on the road.

 _{The courier is carrying sensitive data that was directed by the Hierarch Mother, our job is to eliminate all hostiles in the area, secure the courier and whatever data they may have, and bring them back for interrogation. Skyranger will swoop back around in fifteen minutes after drop off to pick you and the courier up. Advent forces are on their way, so don't waste time!}_

They had just left the Avenger, as per the Commander's orders to assemble for this mission. They'd been told that it was going to be a 'simple' mission, requiring efficiency and precision, but Puppy, in her 'infinite wisdom', asked the real big question that landed the Sharks in hot waters in terms of the Commander's recent 'attitude'.

-Ten Minutes Earlier-

"Wait, if this is going to be a simple job, why don't you send the Gamma Raptors instead of us?" She had asked when the Commander told them the mission plan just moments before departing. "I mean, we're your best squad, why not send the Raptors for this fast and precise operation?"

Naturally everyone just shook their heads in disbelief at her questioning the Commander's orders. It wasn't the first time she'd asked about their assignments in the past, but in recent days the Commander had been very 'tense' in terms of XCOM's recent operations. He's been ordering more attacks, getting as many targets as possible, and above all been very 'quiet' to anyone who talked to him.

He was always quiet in the past, but he was never nearly as quiet as he had been recently.

Still, when Puppy asked her question, the Commander turned to her and stared into her eyes with his Gremlin's optics, using some new lenses to give her a very cold stare.

 _[Because I ordered you to assemble for this mission, Agent Puppy, do I need to reconsider my decision about your promotion to the rank of Corporal?]_

Puppy gulped and shook her head even as her Gremlin floated above her and did a little spin.

With that everyone got on board the Skyranger and remained quiet while they heard the debriefing.

-Present Time-

He sighed and checked his gear, making sure his weapons were fully loaded.

[Alright Kiddies, we're in the pipe, five by five, convoy's sitting stiller than a rock on a Highway, good luck boys and girls.] The pilot said over the coms.

With that the lights all turned from red to yellow at the same time as their ride began to slow down and lurch.

 _[Ready up Sharks!]_ The Commander said as he floated to the front to take position for drop off.

They all stood up and got in position for the drop off, and moments later the door opened and the ropes fell down.

"Let's move!" He yelled as the Commander floated out first, then he ran forward and grabbed the first rope.

As he slid down he caught sight of the convoy ahead, a bunch of cars lined up on the highway stuck, but his vision ended as he landed amid the rock formation that the convoy had stopped near on the other side. When he landed the others soon followed, first was Sharptooth, then Eagleeye, next Falcon, T-Rex, Mercy and finally Puppy.

They immediately switched their eye visors to see what the Commander was showing them and readied their weapons for combat.

 _{Yep, that's the convoy alright, looks like resistance forces hit it harder than we realize, by the looks of it, there's still only the four Advent Troopers guarding the Courier.}_ Central said as they saw six cars, five of which were abandoned and just sitting there with the driver's sides open.

The last one had the doors closed and had tinted windows to prevent anyone from seeing inside of the vehicle.

 _[Alright, this is a simple job Sharks, I want Mercy to position herself at grid L-25.]_ The Commander said to them just as he began issuing orders and directing them through his usual method. _[Hawkeye to grid T-41, Sharptooth to grid M-21, Puppy and Eagleeye advance to grids J-32 and J-34, T-Rex to grid P-15 and Falcon to F-10!]_

" **Understood!"** Mercy hissed.

"Roger, going." He said.

"On my way!" Sharptooth responded.

"Going." Eagleeye answered.

"On it!" Puppy whispered.

"Moving." Falcon said.

"Like white on rice!" T-Rex said.

Minutes later they moved into their positions, with him going up onto the rock formation alongside Sharptooth who was on the far left side of said rock formation, and Mercy even further down on her own little rock ledge, all overlooking the highway. Down below the others were slowly advancing, staying in cover and following the Commander's orders to keep them hidden.

Soon enough though Puppy was close enough to give everyone vision of the Troopers.

"Got some baddies here Sharks!" She whispered to them all.

He switched his eye visor to see what Puppy saw, and saw four Advent Troopers, non-elite models, all standing stationary around the target vehicle.

[ _Alright, wait for targets, on my signal…]_ The Commander said patiently from his high altitude.

(Netra's PoV)

She looked around the vehicle through the tinted glass, watching the troopers sent to protect her and escort her to the next city standing guard and wished they were moving again.

 _ ***It's just a temporary delay, the reinforcements will be here, we'll be moving soon, and all will be well!***_ She reminded herself, trying to keep her spirits high. _***Your mission isn't important, you're not a priority threat, they don't have any reason to want to attack you. You are 'nothing' to them…***_

Her mission as her Hierarch had instructed, had gone smoothly, she had delivered the data to a facility in New Chicago not four hours ago, and then was making her way to New Springfield when several explosions ripped up the road. The few 'civilian' humans who were on the road alongside her vehicle had been evacuated, however she still had a mission to complete, so she was to wait until the reinforcing Advent forces arrived to escort her via dropship to her destination.

It was obviously human terrorists from the resistance movement, no doubt trying to hurt Advent however they could, but it was a coincidence, she hoped, that their target had been the very same highway she herself was traveling on.

The only reason she thought it was a coincidence was that no other attacks had occurred in the twenty minutes they'd been held up.

 _ ***Oh I just want this mission to be done, then I can go back to my Hierarch's compound and sleep…***_ She thought sadly, wanting nothing more to do with the resistance today.

She had a close enough encounter with the XCOM forces once before, she was not keen on having another.

Suddenly she heard the faintest of a shot ring out, and turned to see one of her Troopers fall, dead from a plasma shot to his head.

" **Tarmonah!"** The other Advent Trooper they were paired with yell, looking this way and that way with the others, unable to see where the shooter was.

Seconds later another shot rang out, and this time the path was noticeable as a second Trooper died.

" **Kees mo toosh!"** The third Trooper yelled, pointing toward a series of rock formations to their left.

Both Troopers ran for cover, but not before a third plasma shot rang out, bringing the third Trooper down.

" **Gaaaaaraaaaa!"**

" **Ghan hga haaaaa!"** The fourth Trooper yelled as they were suddenly riddled with plasma bolts from a heavy caliber weapon.

She shook in fear as her four guards had been felled, and looked out to see four individuals running toward them from the nearby forested area overlooking the rock formation.

 _ ***Why me… she said I was safe!***_ She thought fearfully as they ran in her direction.

She looked to the front of the vehicle and thought quickly about starting up the car and making a run for it, but it was pointless, there were cars around her blocking her path. That and if the car suddenly started, they would no doubt shoot it. She looked to the other side where the soldiers weren't coming from, and thought frantically about trying to escape that way, but instantly gave up the idea, remembering that they had sharpshooters watching.

If she even so much as poked her head out, she would be dead.

She was trapped.

 _ ***Why me… why Hierarch Mother… why did you pick 'me'?***_ She asked again, before taking a desperate attempt to hide in the vehicle.

She simply slithered off the seat and between the front and back seats, and prayed to the Elders for a miracle, anything to simply 'live' today.

(Commander's PoV)

"We're in position sir!" Puppy said as she and Eagleeye secured the vehicle, while T-Rex and Falcon positioned themselves to secure the road from opposite sides.

 _[Good, open up the car and secure the Courier!]_

"Do we even know who the courier is?" Puppy asked as she fumbled with the rear door.

Moments later she swung the door open and aimed her laser rifle into the vehicle. Then she paused for a second before she spoke to them all again.

"Commander… what is it with our team and snakes?" She asked. "How come we're the team that always gets the snakes."

He switched vision and saw what she meant, there cowering in between the seats was yet 'another' Viper, only this one was clearly a 'Neonate' as he recalled.

 _[Get her out of there.]_ He said.

"Understood." She said before she aimed her weapon closer and told the Viper to get out.

Moments later Puppy backed up with her gun still pointing at a Viper as she slithered out with her hands up to show she was unarmed.

" **A Neonate?"** Mercy hissed as she and the others were ordered to regroup with them for extraction. **"Why is a Neonate here?"**

"Better question, why is 'she' the courier?" Hawkeye asked quietly.

 _{We can figure this out later Sharks, Advent is closing in, hurry up and prep for evac!}_ Central yelled over the coms.

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy slithered down from her position to rejoin the others as she watched the Skyranger moving in to extract them. From her position she could see that the young Neonate was in her final stages of maturing, it wouldn't be long before others found out if she was capable of breeding naturally or would require genetic enhancements like the rest of her sisters' species. But still the question remained, why was a Neonate the Courier and what information did her Hierarch Mother give her that the Commander wanted?

As they gathered, with weapons trained on the young Viper, the Skyranger flew over them and lowered ropes for them all to climb.

 _[VIP's first!]_ The Commander ordered.

"You, grab a rope!" Puppy barked, pushing the Viper captive forward enough to get the message.

She nodded nervously and held a rope tightly, before it yanked her upward and onto the waiting open door of the Skyranger. Seconds later another rope was lowered and they all began to ascend into their escape vehicle.

Once inside they all took their seats just as the Commander floated in with the other Gremlins, and the door closed behind him. Mercy looked over to see the Neonate captive was at the rear, with Puppy's and Falcon's weapons trained on her, and with her hands clasped behind her to prevent her from reaching for any weapons the Sharks had.

Seeing 'her' though, the Neonate seemed to be looking at her with a pleading expression, clearly asking her to assure her that she would be safe.

" **Commander… what will we…"** She began to ask, but instantly was silenced as the Commander floated over to the Neonate to look at her.

 _[Well, well, well… if it isn't my former 'caretaker' Netra…]_ He said sarcastically, not hiding his distrust for the Viper. _[Last time we spoke… you almost 'dropped' me… am I correct?]_

'Netra' the Viper nodded fearfully, and her blue/white scales seemed to turn just a shade 'whiter'.

 _[Good to know my memory is still fresh… now… 'what' secrets are you hiding…]_ He asked coldly.

Netra's scales turned a shade whiter again but shook her head, saying she wasn't going to talk.

 _[I see… very well then… we'll make you talk… 'eventually'.]_ He hissed. _[You best hope the info you have is worth the time we took to capture you… or else…]_

He leaned ever closer and hissed, in her species' native language.

 _[I'll hang your 'skin'… on my wall…]_

Now Mercy could see Netra's scales clearly turning several shades whiter.

She had never seen her Commander act or even sound this… cruel before, the shock alone at seeing him act this way made her question her choice to join XCOM for the first time in her life. He was torturing an unarmed, clearly harmless, terrified Viper with only his words mere moments after they had captured her.

" **Commander…"** She said nervously.

 _[We'll talk later agents!]_ He said instantly, not even giving her a chance to finish her statement. _[Until we reach the Avenger, I want weapons trained on her, if she so much as twitches the wrong way… shoot her tail. Understood?]_

"Y… yes sir." Puppy said quietly as she glanced at Mercy, before she and the other Sharks did as the Commander ordered, and aimed their weapons at the captive Viper.

She nodded in understanding, and obeyed the order, but she glanced at Hawkeye and silently asked what he thought about the situation. She could see it in his eyes… he did not like it.

 _ ***Something is not right…***_ She thought quietly as the Skyranger continued to fly. _***This is not the Commander I called my Hierarch Father… he's acting more like… my Hierarch Mother.***_

Several minutes passed in silence before they landed on the Avenger, and just as she had been treated when she had been first brought here, Netra received the same treatment. All three squads were present, female soldiers assigned to follow and guard her, a female physician assigned to look her over for 'health' concerns, afterwards she had the same bindings that 'she' herself had worn strapped to her and then she was led down to the very same cargo bay that had once been her prison.

But it seemed the Commander had 'some' compassion, as this time around there was a proper sized mattress and a few blankets instead of the simple bed and sheet she'd had during her stay there. Though there were plenty of cameras, the rope mesh, and the table and chairs in there that she remembered.

Mercy watched as Netra was led to the rope mesh cell, had her binds taken off, and told to stay in there until further notice. Two of the Gamma Raptor's female soldiers were ordered to watch over the prisoner, and everyone else ordered to leave her alone.

Then, and only then, did the Commander finally decide to talk to her alone… in his private chamber.

=One Hour Later=

 _[Mercy… come in.}_ He said as she opened the door after reporting, per his orders. _{You're probably wondering why I'm giving this Neonate a far worse treatment than when you came on board under similar conditions.]_

" **Yes… that 'is' one thing I was wondering."** She hissed quietly as she followed him to the comfortable sitting chairs.

He used his Gremlin's claw to pour her some human beverage, Tea, if she remembered what it was called. It smelled alright, and then handed her the drink.

 _[Mercy, your arrival was under different conditions…]_ He said quietly. _[You too were terrified of us, yes, you too surrendered to us, yes, but unlike Netra you were 'nothing' to the Elders' plan or their chain of command. You were a mere foot soldier, a nameless face, a replaceable asset, just another puppet for them to control and toss aside when you were useless to them. If you up and died one day, for no other reason that perhaps an accident, then they would not give you any more concern than a missing Human civilian on our planet.]_

He floated toward the screen and turned it on, showing several camera angles of Netra as she coiled in the cold cargo bay beneath the blankets she was provided.

 _[Netra on the other hand, works directly 'under' the Hierarch Mother, one of the Advent High Council Aliens. The Hierarch Mother is probably the closest link in the chain to the Elders we've got that we know about. Not only that, but she controls a huge portion of Advent's military, and knows a large portion of their secrets. She also contains the same military experience and intimate tactical knowledge that 'I' had prior to being 'unplugged' from their Psionic Network. If the Hierarch Mother has a plan, she would have shared it with Netra, discussed it around her… she knows 'too much' to be a nameless face.]_

He turned to look at her and shook his Gremlin from side to side, mimicking what she assumed was a human gesture.

 _[Either way Mercy, Netra is a prisoner of war, she has information I want, and I need to find it as soon as possible. And if I have to threaten her a little or frighten her to pieces to get her to spill the beans, so be it… I'm the XCOM Commander, the lives of 'millions' hang on my decisions. I cannot take a risk with the freedom of my species at stake.]_

She looked on quietly as she heard his voice, for some reason, she couldn't quite place it… but he sounded… older… tired even.

 _[There is too much at stake here Mercy… I can't treat every frightened girl that comes on board my ship like a princess. Sometimes being the Commander comes with that price…]_

" **You… don't want to treat her like that though?"** She asked hopefully.

 _[She's just like you were Mercy, frightened for her life, just wanting to live another pathetic day…]_ He said softly, looking back at the screens. _[She was living what was a 'normal life' for her not a few hours ago, without any knowledge that we were going to capture her. Now her whole world is falling apart, she's never going to go back to Advent, and she knows it herself. The second she spills the info she has, her life in Advent is finished.]_

There was silence as she thought about that, before he spoke up again, more to himself this time though.

 _[Do you know why nobody ever refers to me by name?]_ He asked.

She shook her head, not once thinking about it, but now that she did she never once heard Central, Shen, anyone, not even Eagleeye referring to the Commander by name.

 _[The position as Commander… it's a funny story… when XCOM was approved, 'I' out of all the worlds' military commanders was given the task to lead the initiative. I was given command of a special forces unit, which had the resources of an entire planet at its disposal, access to a pool of the finest soldiers from across the world's leading nations. I could order 'anything' to be done, be built, targeted, destroyed, anything and everything was mine to do as I see fit… and it only cost me…]_

He turned off the screens and sighed quietly.

 _[My entire life… before I became the Commander…]_ He whispered. _[My name… my nationality… my heritage… my family records… birth records, dental records, public identity, even my 'permanent school record'… was erased from the public eye. To the world, the 'me' before I became the Commander never existed… not even my family photo exists… heck… even my old 'My Space' page I made in high school just to help someone win a free wedding one time was deleted.]_

He sighed again and floated over to the desk to pick up a datapad with his claw, scanning it with the Gremlin's optics.

 _[It was designed… so that after the war ended, and the world was secured from alien threats, no nation could claim me or attempt to contact me. Not even my host nation knew my name anymore Mercy, after I became the Commander… that's all I was to anyone. That's all I'll ever be until XCOM is dissolved… I have no name… no family, identity, no race, age, 'nothing'! I'm just… a faceless… nameless… 'thing'. My only purpose is to command, to lead, to order the deaths of XCOM's enemies and direct the organization to achieving its directive against the Aliens.]_

 _[The joys of being the XCOM Commander… I can't ever be commended for my accomplishments because I don't have a name… I don't exist. But I can't ever be blamed or reprimanded for mistakes or failures… because I do not exist. I am the shadow leader of the XCOM organization, I give the orders and they are carried out… and the only ones who will ever be recognized are the soldiers seen in the field… the nicknames they gain, the names they have hiding behind them… 'they' are the true XCOM heroes of humanity. Me, I'm just a faceless… nameless… 'thing'… just like Roberto said.]_

Silence again as she absorbed that knowledge, and she put her cup down and slithered over to him, wearing as gentle a smile as she could. **"You are still… my Hierarch Father…"** She hissed loyally. **"So… at least you have 'a' name… 'an' identity as you put it."**

He chuckled at that before reading another datapad. _[I'll keep that in mind Mercy, now go on down to the Sharks' quarters, Hawkeye is looking for you. Something about wanting to catch 'dinner' with you in the mess hall.]_

She went wide eyed at that, how did he know that information, she hadn't even heard from or spoken to Hawkeye yet since they returned.

 _[I'm the Commander of XCOM, I have cameras all over the ship, in 'almost' every room. I like to keep my eyes on everything… even over my own agents.]_ He said with a chuckle. _[And I just want you to know… no matter what you two pursue together while on my ship…]_

He looked up at her, and she swore his Gremlin's optics 'smiled' at her.

 _[You have my permission… and my blessing.]_

(Commander's PoV, hours later)

He floated down to the cargo bay many hours after they had brought the Viper 'Netra' on board. Since then Central has interrogated her, or attempted to, however after seeing the Viper on the screens not talking from the confines of his office, he'd decided to go down there and see what was going on.

"Commander… she's a stubborn one." Central said calmly as he left the room with Netra still under guard. "Hasn't said a single word to the questions I asked."

 _[Not cooperating with us huh?]_ He asked.

"It's only a matter of time, she's obviously on the verge of cracking." He said.

 _[I'm not willing to wait that long.]_ He replied, looking through the window to the Viper Netra, sitting at the table with two of the Dragons aiming weapons at her. _[I'll interrogate her myself… alone.]_

"Alone, sir you can't be…"

 _[I'll handle it myself Central… she's more afraid of 'me' than she is of the weapons pointed directly at her. I'll get her to talk… but if you wish, you and the Dragons can stand by in case something goes wrong…]_

With that he opened the door with his claw and floated in, and the two Dragons nodded to him before returning their attention to the prisoner, who also noticed him and seemed to shiver at his presence.

 _[You two… leave us…]_ He ordered.

They looked at him for a moment before nodding, and exiting the room, leaving him and Netra alone in the cargo bay. He looked at the now 'frightened' Neonate, before floating over to be closer to her.

 _[Now… you're probably wondering, 'why did he order my guards to leave him and me alone'?]_ He said softly, but not hiding his intentions at all as he pulled his claw out and ever so gently, rubbed Netra's shoulder. _[The truth is… and you know it all too well… I don't 'need' guards to keep you restrained. Even if you 'somehow' did something to injure me, this isn't the real 'me' you're looking at… and you know it.]_

He floated around her in a circle, and in his rotation he saw her staring at the wall intently with both eyes, trying to look at anything but him.

 _[The Hierarch Mother told you didn't she… that this Gremlin merely houses my 'mind'… protects the chip inside of it… while my real body is… somewhere…]_ He said sweetly, but now using his claw to turn her head and force her to look at him. _[So even if you 'managed' to damage the Gremlin… all you'd do is make my Chief Engineer work overnight to repair the damage you did to it. And of course… you'd die for it… so we both know that 'that' won't get you anywhere now will it?]_

The look in her eyes told him that she was absolutely terrified of his words, even as he let go and continued to float around, her vision was still fixated on the spot he had forced her to look.

 _[Now… let's discuss your situation right now… You are trapped on a ship floating somewhere you don't know, at an altitude you don't know either. At my order those two guards will come in here, guns blazing, shooting anything that 'isn't' a human. Since I'm obviously the only 'human'… in regards to my mind, that leaves you for the only target.]_

He floated over to her face once again quickly to look at her eyes.

 _[I highly doubt that's what you want…]_

He then floated away and tapped the wall.

 _[What 'Mercy' the Viper who joined us doesn't know, is that at any point, this cargo bay's floor can open up, letting anything that isn't strapped down fall to the ground below.]_ He lied calmly. _[I of course am floating, so I'll be safe but what that means is that… if for any reason, I think you are lying to me about what 'I' want to know… all I have to do is push a button, that you don't know the location of… and…]_

He spun around and held his claw out.

 _[Bobbity boobity bobbity bobbity… splat.]_

He saw the color in her scales fade.

 _[Now… you have knowledge I want… and you haven't given it to me… and I'm running out of time and patience… and there's a limit to how much I have for both.]_ He said politely as he floated over to Central's chair. _[So... let's be pals here, let's be chums… now… what is it the Hierarch Mother sent you to do… and why was it so important to her that she send 'you' to do it, instead of some low ranking 'civilian' or even just broadcast it over the Advent Network?]_

Thirty minutes later he floated out of the cargo bay and the two Dragons resumed their guard duty.

 _[In two weeks the Hierarch Mother is planning to demolition an old abandoned town district, and build a new gleaming city with the latest in technology for health and science, and cheap, affordable, and beautiful houses for the poor and homeless.]_ He said to Central as they headed up to the bridge. _[She's going to be announcing it publicly from the site in a broadcast over the Advent Network live, and even be the first to shovel the 'dirt' of the old world to make way for the shining new utopia of the new world. The city will bring thousands of new jobs and homes for those cities that are starting to become overcrowded. There won't be any humans there though, and a moderate number of soldiers to secure the area for her location.]_

"Sounds like a perfect chance to assassinate her." He said. "Almost sounds like a trap to me, an almost too perfectly laid trap."

 _[Yep, it's a trap alright, and its one she 'wants' me to take.]_

"Perhaps but it's also a perfect opportunity to eliminate her once and for all." Central said as they entered the bridge.

 _[We aren't going Central.]_ He said flatly, floating over to the map.

"What, but Commander…"

 _[She's only doing this because she's run out of time, excuses, and chances with the Advent High Council.]_ He said instantly. _[She's scheduled to be 'terminated' and replaced by a 'promising candidate'. And they obviously don't mean she's being fired.]_

"Okay, but why would she set up this trap then?"

 _[She needs something to get in favor with them again, capturing me would put her in the good light, at least for a while. She's desperate, she's willing to throw away thousands upon thousands of troops, tons of supplies, countless buildings, and who knows what other resources she's spent trying to capture me, all just so she can capture me again. This is her last chance to capture me and save her own life.]_

"So what are we going to do, just let her get away and make Advent look like a saint government while she dies?" Central asked angrily. "I understand you want her dead, but if she goes through with that broadcast then Advent looks better in the public eye! We can't just let her…"

 _[That is precisely what we are going to 'do' Central Officer Bradford!]_ He growled back in a tone that said his decision was final. _[I do not need to risk the lives of our operatives for an operation, which will have the same ending result, as if we'd just left her alone and let Advent deal with her! We risk nothing more than letting Advent get to play the 'Nice Dad' image, and we gain the death of the Hierarch Mother, simply by sitting around and twiddling our thumbs!]_

He turned to the pilots and declared, _[Set course for the Arctic Region, we're heading for Russia to scan for supplies that the Arctic Resistance have hidden for us!]_

Moments later the Skyranger AI declared in a loud voice over the intercom, **{Setting Course for the Arctic.}**


	26. Chapter 26

{Incoming Transmission. . . Connection Established}

{Secured Channel Open, Priority One Message}

{Commander… while I understand your… 'interests'… in this particular plan you have proposed…}

{Make sure that it does not in any way… interfere… with our overall objective…}

{While accepting the Viper into our organization was an… important step…}

{I am beginning to question if our 'involvement' with a member of the species enslaving us is… worthwhile.}

{Also… I have noticed an increase in activity… in regards to the movement of various pieces of Advent technology and equipment…}

{Several heavy weapon's platforms… in particular their Sectopod Walkers… have mysteriously gone… 'missing'… from various facilities.}

{I will continue to monitor and inform you of further developments… until next time Commander…}

{Transmission Complete. . . Deleting All Records. . .}

=Chapter 26, Indebted=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"I HATE RUSSIA!" Puppy screamed from her bunk. "Why does this place have to be so FRIKIN COLD!?"

"Complaining isn't going to help Puppy." He said from his bunk, checking his cards in his hand. "What's your bet Sharptooth?"

"Alright… I bet fifty… and raise twenty!" She called out, before she dropped several chips on the table in the middle of their room.

"Sista be hustling us!" T-Rex laughed. "Alright, I'll see your raise!"

They've been poker for the past two hours, showing Mercy how to play the Sharks' time honored tradition of how to pass the time when they weren't doing anything important for XCOM.

That, and they finally got their deck of cards back from the Water Dragons, after loaning it to the Gamma Raptors, who had loaned it to Engineering, and who had loaned it to Maintenance, where it wound up in the Water Dragons' hands.

"I fold!" Falcon whispered, tossing his cards onto the table using his mind.

"I fold!" Eagleeye said as well.

" **Uh… if I want to call… I put how many chips in?"** Mercy hissed above him.

"The bet plus whatever its been raised by, so in this case, you would put in seventy!" He explained.

" **Okay… I call then…"**

He watched as a tail slid past him and dropped several chips onto the table.

"Alright, I call as well!" He said as he put in the chips as well.

Moments later a card floated past each of them, and saw that it was an Ace. Checking his hand again, he only had a pair of jacks, even with the river card.

"Alright, I'm all in, I bet one-fifty!" Sharptooth said.

"She's gatta have the straight man!" T-Rex laughed. "I aint in this hand brotha, I'm out!"

" **Uh… Hawkeye… is this good hand?"** Mercy asked him, before lowering her scaly hand to show him her cards.

"How come Mercy gets to have advise with her cards and nobody complains, but when I want advise you all say no help?" Puppy complained bitterly.

"Because unlike you, Mercy has no idea how to even play this game!" He answered instantly, seeing her hand had two hearts, giving her a flush. "Call the bet Mercy!"

"I'd make a wager that he's just trying to make her lose!" Sharptooth giggled.

"I wouldn't do that!" Hawkeye said instantly.

"Someone's sure quick to defend his snake girlfriend!" Puppy giggled seconds later.

"And someone sure has a big mouth for a little dog." He said quickly, though with a very faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

"It's puppy, what do you expect?" Sharptooth said.

"Ah, leave the little lass alone~!" T-Rex laughed.

" **I do not understand how you find this game fun…"** Mercy hissed quietly to him as the cards vanished, replaced by her tail as it plopped more chips onto the table.

"Well I fold, I got nothing but a pair!" He said.

"Alright, whatcha got Mercy?" Sharptooth asked. "I got a straight."

" **Uh… does that beat these two red hearts?"** She asked.

"I knew it; she was getting help with winning all game!" Puppy called out.

"I Can't believe a Viper cleaned us out!" Sharptooth groaned.

"That's what you get for letting her have help, you have only yourself to blame Sharptooth." Falcon said quietly, using his mind to take all of their cards and put them back into the deck in his hands.

It was true, they were spending most of their time these days in their room while the bridge crew scanned for supplies left for them by the resistance. It had been just over two weeks since their latest captive, a Viper called Netra, was brought on board the ship. Since then everyone learned how the Commander 'interrogated' the Viper, and learned not only the vital information she had, but also how he was deliberately avoiding a trap because of it.

According to Sharptooth, who learned about it in a briefing with Central along with all the other Colonel rank operatives, the Hierarch Mother had prepared a trap for the Commander, a trap she 'hoped' he'd take after learning about her intentions. Instead, she had let slip that she was 'desperate' to capture him to gain favor with the Advent High Council, it was the only way she was going to survive their wrath.

Her recent failures had gotten her out of favor with them, and now she was scheduled to be terminated. If she somehow managed to capture the Commander's mind in the gremlin again, she would gain favor with them again, instead, the Commander had decided, instead of trying to kill her, he chose to ignore her.

The only agents who didn't know, were those below the rank of Colonel. This of course meant Mercy did not realize her Hierarch Mother was facing execution, and as per his orders, nobody was to tell her.

"Alright, since most of us are out of chips, can we go do some target shooting?" Puppy asked.

"You just want a promotion, don't you Puppy?" Eagleeye asked.

"You bet gramps." She said. "It's better than just sitting here doing nothing! We haven't had a mission in over two weeks. Why's that?"

"The Commander has his reasons." Sharptooth said instantly.

" **That is weird… he was so… active weeks ago… now we're idle…"** Mercy hissed, leaning to talk to him from her bunk above him. **"Why so idle now?"**

"Don't worry about it!" He answered, before pulling his book from beneath his pillow to read. "Though speaking about weeks ago, how is our captive from two weeks ago?"

"I think she's alright!" Sharptooth said from across the room.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm heading down to the range for some target practice, it's better than sitting here freezing in our room while we get cleaned out by a Viper at Poker." Puppy said.

"You get cleaned out three hands in each time we play!" Eagleeye said with a chuckle, getting up to follow her.

"I'm off to the bar, you comin Falcon?" T-Rex asked.

"I guess someone should keep an eye on you." He said.

While everyone left Mercy slid down from her bed. **"I'm going to go visit Netra… do you… want to come Hawkeye?"** She asked him, and the tone of her voice sounded hopeful.

"I think I'll stick here for a while, it's my turn to feed Vivi." He said.

" **Oh… I see."** She hissed sadly. **"I'll see you later then."**

Moments later he heard her slip out of their room and close the door behind her.

"You two sure seem pretty close nowadays." Sharptooth said from her bunk.

"What gives you that idea?" He replied instantly.

"Oh please, it's obvious you two are close." She said with a chuckle. "That… and the Commander kind of told me!"

"What?!" He yelled, instantly sitting up.

"Yea, he kind of slipped it to me!" She said, reading one of T-Rex's old comic books, something about the Looney Toons. "Though he made me promise not to say anything, said it was 'your' decision to say anything. So… tell me… do you really like her?"

He just shook his head as he laid back in his bunk. "How does he figure these things out?"

"He's our Commander, the guy's a master of information… that and he probably picked it up on the camera feeds." She said quietly. "Sad though… I know a few girls kinda had their eye on you for a while. Guess they lose to a Viper; bet they didn't see that coming."

Thinking about Mercy and what Sharptooth said made him think about it himself. Yes, he had 'feelings' for the Viper, but he just didn't want to get 'involved' with her, just 'yet'. He still wasn't sure if they would actually be able to survive this war. It had been dragging on, and on, and he's had a long time in his days in XCOM to know that things don't always work out for them.

But as he thought about Mercy, a part of him was actually sad that he didn't go with her to visit the Viper captive Netra. She was the only other Viper on the ship, and unlike Netra, she wasn't confined to a single room being forced to do whatever work Central and the bridge crew gave her to do.

"So Hawkeye… why Mercy?" Sharptooth asked suddenly. "I mean, of all the girls on this ship, you know… the ones still single and human, why a 'Viper'?

"Why Mercy… well… I guess it's because I was just being nice to her." He said. "She just seemed so… innocent, nice… if it weren't for her species… I'd figured she was like any other human."

Sharptooth chuckled at that before glancing over at him. "Well, if you two can make it happen somehow, then I personally will believe anything is possible. Even winning this war."

"You don't think we can win?"

"Hawkeye, I was here before you, I was there when we rescued the Commander from that clinic, and I'm still surprised I'm alive after all the crap we've been through… but as far as winning was concerned…" She sighed and sat up, tossing T-Rex's comic book onto his bunk. "After everything that's happened, it seems like Advent gets stronger, while 'we' get weaker. Sure we win a battle here, blow up a building there, kill a few Xenos here and there, and spread the truth everywhere… but at the end of the day, who's still in charge? When we go to bed at night, why are 'we' the ones with wanted posters lining the walls? When all the 'sheep' are living the comfortable, clean, well fed lives in the cities… we're the refugees running from continent to continent, just to stay safe."

"The Commander may give us hope, strength, the edge we need to win in a fight against Advent… but he's just one person. I heard him muttering about it just as I left the debriefing with Central. We need a miracle at this point to really turn the tide… if Advent won't deploy their Codex units, we can't Jack into them to get the information we need. Sure we shut down a huge portion of their forces with that Virus, but that's only temporary, the second they find a cure or workaround… they'll deploy their forces again, and we'll be outnumbered. Without the info the Codex's are protecting… all we're doing, is delaying the inevitable."

She sighed again and gave him a thumbs up.

"I'm off to the bar, pinkie promise I'll keep your little 'relationship' secret from Puppy. But don't expect her to not realize it sooner or later, especially if you two keep on acting all nice together!"

With that Sharptooth left the room.

He sighed and went back to his book.

"A miracle huh…?" He whispered. "If Mercy and I can make it happen… anything is possible huh?"

(Mercy's PoV)

" **So… what is it you are doing?"** She asked Netra.

She was sitting in the cargo hold where, in the same mesh net that once was 'her' prison, Netra was busy examining boxes that various Gremlins were bringing her. Rover, Chief Engineer Shen's Gremlin was among the Gremlins, holding a datapad up for her.

" **Inventorying for the Commander!"** She said happily.

" **You are… inventorying for the Commander?"** She asked.

" **Yes!"** She said with a smile after closing the box and tapping on the datapad. **"He wants me to examine every box and inventory the contents for Shen! If I finish soon I'll be able to eat dinner with him."**

" **He wants you to dine with him?"** She asked in amazement.

Her Commander never once offered to dine with her, or even offered her the chance to dine with him. In fact, now that she thought about it, he never dined at all.

" **Oh yes… something about… not wanting me to eat alone with the crew because I might…"** She said excitedly before hesitantly looking away. **"Never mind… it is private… I am not to discuss."**

" **Private?"** She asked skeptically, peaking into a box and seeing just a pile of broken alloys and stripped wires.

" **He just said… not to discuss with anyone!"** She said nervously, returning to her box and rummaging around again.

She sighed and looked around the cargo room. The cameras were all still there, some of them had their recording lights off, but most were still watching them. The room itself seemed 'warmer' than before, and she noticed this was because of a heater in the center of the room. It seemed to be a patchwork job, apparently one of Shen's rushed jobs, probably on the Commander's orders.

She smiled at seeing it, her Commander did have a heart after all. Even if he didn't show it often.

" **Well at least your accommodations are better than when I was here."** She hissed to the captive.

" **Were you treated well?"** Netra asked nervously, pausing in her examining of the box.

The instant she stopped Rover smacked the back of her hood with the datapad and whirled. _**[Netra, the Commander wants this done, that means 'finished', back to work!]**_ Shen's voice said in a broken, disjointed recording, obviously taken from various samples of Shen's words.

" **Y… yes ma'am!"** She said nervously, before going back to examining the contents of the box.

She thought about her times back when she was a captive, and smiled at the difference between then and now. **"Yes… back then, all I had was a thin blanket and a mattress… and it was so cold in here."** She said. **"But… it always got warmer when… Hawkeye visited."**

" **Hawkeye?"** Netra asked tentatively, examining another box now.

" **A human male… he is… well… I 'hope' he'll be… my life mate!"** She said with a warm smile.

" **Life mate…!"** Netra said loudly, dropping the box she was handed by a pair of Gremlins.

In response, Rover smacked her again and whirled angrily. _**[Watch what you're doing, that stuff is valuable!]**_ Shen's voice yelled.

" **Apologies!"** She squealed fearfully, quickly picking up the box and going back to her work. **"Life mate… but… they are humans! Our species hasn't had a… life mate pair… for such a long time!"**

She sighed happily and thought about that, if they could somehow make it work, they'd be the 'first' life mate pair her species has had for a very long time. The last pair to be made was… well before the Elders uplifted her species. After that happened, there hasn't been a pairing.

" **Yes… we'll be the first pair… if only our Hierarch Mother could see us now…"** She said softly.

" **Yea… too bad she'll never see us again."** Netra hissed sadly.

At that she looked at the Neonate and saw that her blue and white scales had gone pale, and her expression went slightly fearful.

" **What do you mean by that?"** She asked.

" **Uh…"** Netra hissed fearfully. **"Nothing… I meant nothing!"**

" **What… do you mean… by that?"** She hissed now, with a sterner tone, inching closer to the mesh net.

" **Its… nothing I swear!"** Netra whispered fearfully, now backing up as close to the wall as she could.

" **I am your 'elder' sister… and a member of the 'superior' genes… now tell me… 'what do you mean by that'?"** She hissed angrily.

Netra nodded instantly and began speaking. **"She's scheduled to be terminated!"** She yelped.

At those words Mercy stopped glaring and look shocked. **"Terminated… but…"**

" **The elders are displeased by her failures, the day after tomorrow she will be terminated!"** Netra hissed in fear, not knowing that she had stopped glaring at her. **"The Commander wanted the information kept secret! He told me not to share it with anyone else, he said he'd throw me off the ship if I said anything! Please don't tell him I said anything!"**

Hearing what Netra said made her put the pieces together, the reason why they were idle, why they had gone from being active to now just sitting around. It all suddenly made sense.

At that realization she turned and left the room as fast as she could, slithering up to the one place in the Avenger that 'no' operative went to unless they were ordered there.

The Commander's quarters.

" **You won't tell him I said anything will you?"** Netra asked as loudly as she could.

 _ **[Back to work!]**_ Shen's voice yelled through Rover again.

(Commander's PoV)

He sighed as he watched through the cameras, overseeing the conversation's outcome and knowing what was going to happen in a few minutes. _[Damn you Netra… I said 'not a word' for a reason…]_ He growled.

He patched into the coms to talk to Central.

 _[Central… have security standing ready if I give you the signal, and have them head to my quarters.]_

 _{Why's that sir?}_ Central asked.

 _[Because Mercy just found out about the Hierarch Mother.]_ He said simply.

Moments later a knock on his door sounded, and he checked the camera to see Mercy right outside.

 _[Enter!]_ He said calmly.

Mercy opened the door and slithered in. **"Commander…"**

 _[You're here to ask about the Hierarch Mother.]_ He said, looking at her through his optics to see her surprised face. _[You forget; I have eyes everywhere on my ship… I already know Netra spilled the beans about the Hierarch Mother's termination. And judging by your expression, you figured out why I told her to keep quiet about it.]_

She nodded and slithered over to his desk. **"You have to rescue her Commander, she is my species' Hierarch Mother, our spiritual leader, our guide in how we are to live! If she were to die…"**

 _[Then the Advent Administration, and the Elders, lose the most valuable weapon they have against us.]_ He answered curtly, picking up a datapad and reading it. _[Without her they can't match me move for move, without her strategies they can't predict and outwit me on the field! Without her, they lose the greatest advantage they still have left, the accumulated tactical knowledge that 'I' had while still connected to their Psionic Network. The second she goes, is when I finally get the initiative against their forces again.]_

" **But… you can't just let her die!"** Mercy said fearfully. **"She's too important… if she dies…"**

 _[Then 'we' win.]_ He said instantly. _[Need I remind you that she tried to kill 'us' several times… you and the other Sharks, without hesitation. She was willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of forces to capture me. Do you think she'd extend the same courtesy to you?]_

Mercy was silent for a few minutes, and thinking that she had finished giving her piece, he turned toward his book shelf for the briefest of moments. **"But she loves you…"** She hissed hopefully.

At that he stopped moving.

" **She loves you Commander… you said so yourself… she wouldn't 'dare' hurt you. Even if you threatened to kill her… she'd never lay a finger on you."** She hissed in a hopeful tone. **"If… if you saved her… she'd join us… I'm sure of it! If… if you brought her to our side like you did me… then others of my kind… they'd join as well! I know they would, if you told her… she'd get my species to…"**

 _[I am not about to save the very same creature, that held me captive in a plasma shield on some podium… like a trophy!]_ He said angrily. _[For that to happen, something 'drastic' would have to happen to get me to save her. As far as I am concerned… she can 'die' to a firing squad, and I won't bat an eye or give a second's thought about it.]_

" **Commander… I'm begging you please!"** She hissed again.

 _[Get out…]_ He growled.

" **But… Commander… please…"**

He turned to her and pointed at the door. _[I am your Commanding Officer… and I am giving you an 'order'… get… out!]_ He demanded. _[Do not make me call security, because I WILL!]_

Moments after that he heard the coms go off in his room.

 _{Commander, we have a transmission coming in… it's him,}_

 _[Great… just what I needed.]_ He said exasperatedly. _[Leave Agent Mercy… you have ten seconds before I call security and have them remove you! This is a private talk…]_

He glared at her with his optics until she nodded sadly, and slithered out with her tail following behind pitifully.

He sighed as the door closed behind him, before turning to the view screen to see the Council's shadowy, faded, distorted image appearing.

 _[Hello Council.]_ He said.

 _{Hello Commander, it would seem your… 'alliance' with the organization… known as EXALT… has paid dividends… in spades.}_ He said in a prerecorded message. _{I have just received a communication from their shadow leader…}_

The screen changed to show the EXALT insignia, spray painted on a wall.

 _{EXALT's assaults on the various facilities belonging to Advent across the globe, have spread their forces thin, thin enough to allow one of their agents, to infiltrate… and steal a cache of vital secrets and information, from the highest levels to the lowest of Advent's chain of command.}_

The screen changed to an image of the EXALT insignia, and the voice that followed was synthetic. _{What becomes of the information, is not of our concern, for we are both united in our common goal… you are indebted to us Commander… we 'ask' you to repay that debt.}_

The screen returned to the Council's image.

 _{EXALT has requested we… obtain… the information their agent was able to acquire… before they were discovered… and forced to hide it. Your mission, is to go to the coordinates… locate the information… retrieve it at all costs… and use it to neutralize Advent, before they can locate the information and neutralize 'it'! Good Luck, Commander.}_

He bowed respectfully to the Council Spokesman as the screen returned to the XCOM insignia.

 _[As you wish Council…]_ He said.

An hour later found him on the bridge, waiting for the coordinates to be decrypted and plugged into the holo globe.

"How much longer Shen?" Central asked impatiently.

"Patience is a virtue Central, as I keep telling you!" She said. "This is as fast as the decryption algorithm goes!"

 _[The sooner we find out where we're going… the faster I can repay my debt to EXALT and be done with them.]_ He said.

Several minutes later he saw Shen finish typing and took a sigh of relief. "Got it, plugging in the coordinates!"

The globe spun, and then zoomed in on a section of the Central United States. Then it zoomed in further, toward what appeared to be an abandoned town, well away from one of the major Advent City centers.

 _[No… recheck those coordinates!]_ He ordered.

"Checking… confirmed, that's where the intel says we're supposed to go." Shen said.

"Well at least we…" Central began saying before he was interrupted.

 _[Check them again!]_ He ordered.

"Sir I just…" Shen said before he repeated himself.

 _[I said… check those coordinates… 'again'.]_

"Okay…" She whispered, before reentering the coordinates into the globe, and it zoomed back to the same location. "Confirmed sir."

He looked at the globe, and then back to Shen, glaring with his optics.

"Checking… 'again' sir… for any computational errors." She said nervously.

Moments later the globe faded, reformed, and zoomed in 'again'… on the same location.

Everyone glanced at the Commander now as he glared through his optics at the globe.

"Uh… let me check those decryption algorithms again… and recheck the coordinates I got from them…" Shen said quietly, before typing five times as fast as she could on her datapad. "Sir… I'm afraid… the coordinates are… accurate… these are the correct coordinates."

 _[You have got… to be kidding me.]_ He said. _[Of all the places… of 'all' places… why 'there'…]_

"Sir, what's up with this location?" Central asked in confusion.

 _[This place… is the same town… that the Hierarch Mother is scheduled to be visiting tomorrow!]_ He growled. _[This is the same town, that she's broadcasting from… where she laid a trap for me… the same trap that I was trying to 'avoid'. And the Council Spokesman told me to 'find' this information cache… meaning I have no choice… but to step 'into' that trap!]_

That was only half the story though, the town in question had another reason that he wanted to avoid it, but it was classified to only 'him'. Nobody else, not a soul, in all of XCOM knew… that the town that they had to go to tomorrow…

Was his 'hometown'…

He glared at the globe, and growled so low that only he could hear himself.

 _[Damn you EXALT!]_


	27. Chapter 27

(Hierarch Mother's PoV,)

[Location: Somewhere in Central United States]

She moved along down the street of the old, run down, abandoned ruins of what used to have been a very active and populated town on the outskirts of one of the human city centers from the old days. As she moved she slithered past some crashed cars, boarded up buildings and damaged street centers. All around her she smiled and looked at what used to be her mentor's home.

Oh, how long she has searched, how long she has waited for this day.

If only she weren't flanked by several Advent Troopers as well as her elite daughters.

" **Teeshtoo…"** One of them yelled suddenly, aiming their weapon at something that rattled in a nearby trash can.

She smirked as she watched her guards, excluding her daughters, aim their weapons at the trash can.

Moments later, the can tilted over as the wind pushed against it, and out fell trash, including an old can that was rattling with the discarded remains of some plastic straws.

" **When you are done worrying about 'intruders' that do not exist… 'yet'…"** She hissed in boredom. **"I will be able to enjoy this moment."**

She moved on and continued to observe the buildings of the past.

Her speech was scheduled to be broadcast tomorrow, and it would bring about a new era of Advent's rule. She was sure that, after tonight, the plans of the Elders would change. All she need do, is wait for her 'mentor' to fall into the trap that was set.

Then… everything would go per the plan she had carefully laid in preparation for this day.

Finally, as she approached a residential section of the town, after half an hour of wandering, she stopped and ordered her guards to remain behind, while she ventured forth alone.

" **I will not be long… I just want to… enjoy the moment."** She hissed quietly. **"It is going to be a lovely night… and I wish to take advantage of it!"**

Her daughters nodded in understanding, while the 'cloned' Troopers merely obeyed her orders.

She moved forward until she was alone, and smiled as she looked at all the human houses, admiring how they all looked so similar, yet each was different, in ever so subtle ways. Here she was, standing in the hometown of her mentor. The place where he grew up. Being here made her feel 'sooo' connected to him. While she admired the houses, wondering if one of them was his 'home', she began humming a tune… one she has not hummed for many… many years.

" **Kotoba yori wakariaeru… manazashi ga soko ni areba, hito wa minna ikite-yukeru… mayaowazu ni jiyuu ni."** She sang in the foreign earth dialect… softly singing the melody she remembered from memory. **"Ayamachi wo koete, kidzuku hontou no yasashisa, anata to, mitsuketa, kara ai to yoberu tsuyosa wo…"**

As she sang she glanced down at the ground and saw a damaged toy… a bear by the looks of it, worn by the elements and little more than rubbish. But she smiled as she picked it up and admired its bland expression. The toy reminded her of… her.

" **I believe your love, furue nagara, kuchidzuke ni kasaneta negai. Anata ga ite… watashi ga iru… wasurenaide itsumo…"** She sang, putting one of her hands to her chest, feeling her heartbeat as she remembered her mentor from many years ago, when he was still in the psionic network.

Commanding her, controlling her, using her, making her his ever-obedient puppet… his to do with as she willed him. He and he alone ever 'noticed' her, none of the Elders paid her mind, none of them spoke to her, only he did. That alone made her truly respect him, and through him the elders. Her loyalty to them was through him, she would die for them, if only because it meant dying for 'him'.

" **I believe your dream, tsunoru omoi… itoshisa wo inori ni kaete, kono kodou wo, tsutaetai yo, atsuku hageshiku… so far away…"**

As she hummed the tune, preparing to sing more of it, a series of footsteps sounded behind her.

" **Keeshtooosha metonah…"** The Trooper began saying, but the instant he opened his mouth, she snapped.

Seconds after he spoke the first letter she hissed and spun around, and slashed him with a hidden plasma blade she had along her cuffs which extended to a six-inch reach. She glared furiously and hissed angrily as she slashed his neck, then she slashed his chest, and then stabbed his face continuing to glare at the mutilated Trooper she had just killed.

" **I… ordered… you… to… remain behind…"** She hissed quietly, before deactivating her plasma blade, and watched the corpse fall to the ground. **"I want… to enjoy… this 'night'!"**

Hearing the plasma blade one of her daughters came around the corner and saw the dead trooper. **"Hissto mina hassah!"** She hissed worriedly.

" **I know I'm being executed tomorrow…"** She replied calmly, standing back up straight. **"But until I'm dead tomorrow, I am still your Hierarch Mother, and am a member of the council. I still command loyalty and respect… now go back to your sisters… I wish to enjoy this moment!"**

Her daughter nodded and slithered away without another word, leaving her to once again look at her surroundings. She breathed softly, smiled warmly, and began humming again.

=Chapter 27 – Love Blossoms=

(Mercy's PoV, at that moment)

She lay on her bed weeping softly, nothing she said to her Commander, her 'Hierarch', could convince him to save her Hierarch Mother from her fate.

"You okay Mercy?" Puppy asked quietly from across the room.

The other Sharks had come in moments ago, after hearing about Mercy crying in the hallways from various crew members who saw her. But she had ignored them entering, and continued to cry in her bunk.

"Hey girl, what's wrong?" T-Rex asked gently.

She continued to ignore them, how could they understand what was wrong with her? They were humans, they didn't know what was going on with her. Losing a leader to them meant they simply had to replace said leader, it happened easily enough and swiftly enough.

The Commander gets lost or killed, he's replaced, if Central is lost, he's replaced. No confusion, no problems, XCOM continues onward despite the loss. Sure, the crew and soldiers might be disheartened for a while, but they would carry on and they'd get used to their new leader. They did it before, they can do it again if necessary.

But her species… losing their Hierarch Mother, without a new Hierarch Mother being named or 'hatched' before the current one died? Losing her was… unfathomable for her species. Without her they were lost, her sisters would have no guide, no direction in how to act, they'd simply turn to the Elders for guidance… the only other beings they trusted.

If that happened, they would be lost forever.

"Guys I think we should leave Mercy for a while." Sharptooth whispered softly. "I think I know what's wrong."

"What's wrong?" Puppy asked.

"Not for you to know, classified, your still only a Corporal." Sharptooth hissed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Puppy asked as she heard the Sharks leaving, dragging Puppy with them.

Moments later the door closed and she glanced over to see that none of the other Sharks were there that she could see. She sighed and turned back to her bed, and wept some more.

Why did the Commander hate her Hierarch Mother so, why did he favor 'her' but not her species' leader? Why couldn't he save her as well, why didn't he want to save her, was she such a threat that he would rather let her 'die' than try and bring her to their side?

"I guess you found out about the Commander's plan?" A soft voice asked, and she recognized it as Hawkeyes.

She looked up to see Hawkeye stand up from the bunk below her, his book closed and placing it on his bed. But he looked at her with his soft eyes and a face full of understanding.

" **He… he's letting her die…"** She moaned, before going back to her pillow and crying. **"She loves him… she adores him… she'd 'die' for him… but he doesn't want to even 'think' about saving her!"**

Hawkeye sighed as he climbed up onto her bunk, sitting on the edge where there was barely enough room for him. Then he softly rubbed the back of her hood, gently rubbing her as she continued to moan.

"It's not an easy decision for him to make… try to understand 'his' point of view." He whispered to her. "She's tried killing us so many times, she threw countless soldiers and weapons trying to capture him. She's willingly sacrificed critical facilities and materials to Advent just to try and catch 'him', body or no body. She also isn't asking him to save her, even when she's facing execution… she's still only thinking about trying to capture him."

" **But… she's species' my leader…"** She moaned still.

"He knows that… believe me." Hawkeye said softly. "He doesn't make 'any' decision lightly… he thinks things through, carefully and methodically. Every time he makes a move, he weighs the possible outcomes, 'all' of them… and what might happen trying to 'achieve' those outcomes. He knows she's your leader, your spiritual leader… he knows losing her would break your heart…"

" **Then why?"** She begged, looking up at him with a pleading look, hoping he'd have an answer for her. **"Why… why leave her to die, why abuse her feelings for him, why betray her heart when she'd 'die' to prove herself to him!?"**

Hawkeye's eyes showed the difficulty of the question she posed to him. It was obvious he had no answer for her.

Still, he sighed and looked down at the floor.

"If I were in his shoes… well I wouldn't know what to do." He said. "He could save her, but maybe Advent 'wants' him to, they probably know of her devotion, her 'feelings' for him. Perhaps they 'want' him to take advantage of it, get him and finish us off while we try and rescue one Viper. Besides… there's no way we can know for sure that she'd die for him, just that she'd kill for him."

He sighed again and held up his left arm horizontally, staring at his forearm. "Remember what I said… humans hold grudges… sometimes for 'lifetimes'. We never forget who hurts us, and we sometimes don't rest until we repay that pain in turn."

(Hawkeye's PoV)

He looked at his forearm, the arm that once held his bird. He could still remember the weight that arm once held… and he would never forget the pain he felt when he watched through his bird's eyes, as Advent killed him.

"He's got the lives of 'millions' on his shoulders Mercy… not just 'humans' but 'aliens' as well, even if they are the enemy… they are still on his shoulders." He whispered softly. "He can't take any decision lightly. Even the slightest mistake could cost him 'dearly'… and he could lose it all in one moment."

He looked over at Mercy and saw her sad expression on her face, it was honestly making him sad as well. This was after all, a living creature who had gone through so much emotional turmoil in her life.

First she is blamed and punished for simply wanting to live, then her world is ripped apart as she's taken captive by her enemies. Next she's forced to help them or risk being considered a PoW for the rest of her days, then she decides to join her enemies to fight her former masters and allies. Next she tries to determine where her loyalties lay, to XCOM and humanity or to Advent and the Elders? Now she spent the rest of her days fighting to maintain her loyalty and identity as a member of her species, while reminding herself that she is their 'enemy'.

Then, assuming they won, how would the rest of humanity view her, and others of her kind if any of them switched sides? Would they simply see them as opportunistic traitors, simply switching to the winning side? Or would they be loyalists to Earth but Traitors to the Aliens? Would they even be welcomed once the truth was found out, would they be hated, despised, never trusted again?

Mercy probably had these things running in her head every day, and even just thinking about it now he wanted to give up on everything with all of that in his mind.

If he were in her figurative shoes, he'd want to just lay down and cry as well, especially after finding out that her commanding officer was letting her species' leader die by simply being idle.

Even though she was his enemy, Mercy's leader was still her species' leader, and even though Mercy was now the Hierarch Mother's enemy… and the Viper Leader would probably execute Mercy the second she had the chance…

She still cared enough about her to want to try and save her Hierarch Mother.

"I wish I could help you Mercy… I wish I could convince him to save your Hierarch Mother. But I'm not a bridge officer, and there's no way he'll listen to anyone when it comes to making command decisions besides maybe Central." He said sadly. "I'm just an operative Mercy… I can't make the Commander change his mind about anything, even on the battlefield. If he wants XCOM to take a specific course, we must follow his lead. He is in charge, he's the Commander for a reason…"

Mercy however nodded in understanding and moved to lean her head on his shoulder, burying her face in his chest. **"I know Hawkeye…"** She hissed sadly. **"I just… hoped… that maybe… I could save my species from the Elders… like how 'you' saved me."**

He sighed and began rubbing her hood again. "Don't give up hope yet Mercy… maybe we can still save them!" He said warmly. "If we can convince you, then perhaps we can convince others to join us. Surely not all of them are fanatically loyal like the Hierarch Mother is…"

(Mercy's 'and' Hawkeye's PoV)

Mercy hissed softly as she felt her hood being rubbed by Hawkeye. His gentle touch made her feel better, and now that she was so close to him, she could feel his heartbeat. She had never been this close to him before, at least not this intimately.

He was a human, though he was a human he was unlike all the other humans she'd known in her life. He was not like the foolish humans who swallowed the lies of the Elders, he wasn't like the humans in the resistance who feared and possibly despised her still.

No… he was warm to her, honest to her… kind to her, treated her warmly and with respect.

" **Hawkeye… I… thank you…"** She hissed happily.

"I'm only trying to help you." He said gently.

He had to admit, Mercy was hardly anything like what he used to see Vipers as years ago. Back then they were ferocious, dangerous, poisonous, and murderous. Seeing one on the field forced them to hide and watch where they were positioned, unless they wished to be pulled and strangled to death!

But right now, with her so close, Mercy was no more different than any girl simply trying to find some small comfort and solace in her time of despair.

It was probably for that reason that he saw her as 'beautiful' as he once told her before.

As he held her left hand, simply trying to offer her some small comfort, she gripped his hand back and held it tightly. Then they silently, without realizing it, crossed their fingers together.

They simply sat together, with her slowly shifting her tail so it lay over his legs, and trailed off the bed alongside his feet.

" **Hawkeye…"** She whispered, looking at his eyes as she held his hand.

"Yes Mercy?" He asked, looking back into her eyes.

As Human and Viper eye made contact, they both saw in each other a small spark. It wasn't huge, but it was noticeable, and slowly… ever so slowly, they felt their arms move to hold each other around their waists. Subconsciously, Mercy's hood folded 'slightly', narrowing her head's profile like an earth snake would to make itself narrower. Then, they began to lean closer to each other and… in a few moments.

They closed their eyes and felt their lips press against one another.

For a few moments, they simply let their mouths do the talking, let their lips express what they were feeling. That simple kiss let go of so many feelings they were bottling up inside of them.

For Hawkeye, kissing Mercy made him realize just what he had been denying himself for months, years even. After losing his hawk Falcor to Advent, all he had wanted was to make them pay for what they did to him. So, he'd closed his heart off, only showing mercy when it was necessary, and it wasn't until 'Mercy' showed up, did he ever restrain himself when killing any alien. However, when he kissed Mercy, he felt all his pain slipping away as he knew that if his bird could have talked, he would have told him to not close off his heart like he did.

Kissing Mercy, made him remember the things in life that were worth living for, worth 'fighting' for… worth… 'dying' for. No matter what he lost in the past, he had gained far more from simply knowing Mercy, the Advent Viper turned XCOM Viper.

For Mercy, kissing Hawkeye was a dream come true, at least her newest dream. It was something she had wanted since she first felt that desire to become his life mate. After losing Advent, her species, her Hierarch Mother, having her life from before taken away, and embracing her new life, she's had to cast away her former masters and loyalties to embrace her knew loyalties. Yet one single spark, that always gave her strength and courage to go on, to endure, to fight on, was Hawkeye… the love of her heart.

Kissing Hawkeye, made her truly embrace her future with him. She didn't care now what would happen, even if she were the last Viper in existence, even if Humanity despised and resented her, she would endure it all to be with Hawkeye.

They parted from each other and stared at each other, blushing slightly as they continued to look in each other's eyes.

"Mercy…" He whispered.

" **Yes?"** She hissed softly.

"I love you Mercy…" He said.

She smiled and nodded. **"And I you… Hawkeye."** She cooed.

Seconds later they heard the door open with a soft 'hiss', and they turned to see Puppy's surprised face.

After a full ten seconds of staring between the two of them, she gained a huge grin on her face.

 _*Oh no…*_ Hawkeye thought.

 _ ***Here it comes…***_ Mercy thought.

They both knew Puppy, they knew how she was, how she reacted to things, especially concerning her teammates. They knew she was not a 'complete' idiot, she had just walked in on them both holding each other, still holding hands, and still sitting next to one another in each other's embrace.

The wheels in her head had turned, and in one second she'd put two and two together.

"I KNEW IT, SHE 'WAS' YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" She screeched gleefully.

They would have responded, if not for right at that moment when the intercom went on.

{Attention, Agents Mercy, Sharptooth, Hawkeye, Eagleeye, Falcon, Puppy, and T-Rex please report to the armory for weapon and armor refit. Repeat, Attention, Agents Mercy, Sharptooth, Hawkeye, Eagleeye, Falcon, Puppy, and T-Rex please report to the armory for weapon and armor refit.}


	28. Chapter 28

{No Transmissions Detected. . .}

{Systems on standby. . .}

=Chapter 28, Memory Lane=

(Hierarch Mother's PoV)

She smiled as she glanced around the old remains of the once thriving town, abandoned, desecrated.

The perfect place… for one final battle…

This place would be the site where she would put everything on the line, it would be all or nothing.

She stared at all the low walls, the buildings, broken glass, destroyed cars, overturned trash bins…

" **I know you…"** She hissed warmly. **"We've been here before…"**

She heard the distant roar of engines, and looked up to see a dark flying human vessel fly overhead moments after spotting it. It flew low and seemed to open its rear door, before flying off.

Seconds later she glanced to her left and saw… just a hint of movement. Upon closer inspection, she saw the heads of three humans… with conventional weapons and basic Kevlar armor hiding behind the wall of an abandoned coffee shop.

" **No more surprises… to settle our score…"** She hissed softly, before watching as the three humans jumped up, aimed their weapons and moved forward slowly.

Not five seconds later a pair of Thin Men leapt up in front of her, and opened fired first. Plasma shots rang out and blasted two of the humans through their heads, who didn't have a chance to shoot back. The third managed to fire back and managed to kill one of the Thin Men, but the second retaliated, firing a cloud of toxic poison from his mouth. The remaining human coughed badly, trying to get out of the toxins, and for their trouble… they were shot dead by the remaining Thin Man.

" **I know the darkness… that you hide…"** She whispered, turning around and seeing three wheeling vehicles, carrying miniguns, roll forward and aim at the Thin Man. **"Determined bravery… disguising your fear…"**

As the Thin Man was gunned down, three Mutons appeared alongside several Seekers, and began returning fire upon the SHIVs, who rolled forward without fear, being gunned down one at a time, destroyed and becoming nothing more than smoldering wrecks. Behind them, using the SHIVS' distraction to advance, more humans ran from cover, each wearing metallic plating armor, and wielding laser weaponry.

The Soldiers retaliated and returned fire, gunning down the Mutons one by one, but also being gunned down and isolated by the Seekers, who cloaked and choked the humans to death.

Grinning, she moved toward the center of the battle, admiring how not seconds later, a new group of heavy hitting mechanical units floated out of the sky, and began raining plasma bolts and explosive destruction upon the battlefield.

" **I know your weakness… I know your pain…"** She hissed as she spotted a floating machine across the square. **"I know your fear… that you dare not blame…"**

As the machine floated toward her, four humans appeared alongside it, two of whom had simply emerged, melting almost from the wall they had been standing next to. They had strange attachments along their arms, and their veins glowed almost golden yellow beneath their skin. The other two humans materialized from some cloaking technology, and one's eyes glowed purple. Together they marched forward, firing plasma shots and launching powerful attacks, decimating the mechanical forces.

Behind her, a pair of Sectopods and Berserkers appeared to match this new threat, and moved forward, faster than her as she slowly moved toward the floating machine, which continued to float toward her.

The new soldiers separated, precisely, without verbal or visual communication, and began firing at their chosen targets. Meanwhile, two massive mechanical suits and one floating SHIV fell from the sky. The SHIV opened fired on the Sectopod, while the two 'MEC' humans engaged their Berserker opponents in one on one combat.

The Sectopod fired, but the SHIV, though damaged, repaired itself even as it fired back.

" **And the one who comes for me… when my time has come…"** She hissed as the battle began to explode, with more and more humans and alien forces converging, firing, and destroying the town square.

Yet through it all the 'Gremlin' as she knew it as now… floated toward her, and now they were staring at one another.

" **Oh, I know 'you'…"** She hissed warmly… before pulling her hand out from behind her back.

At the same time the Gremlin reached behind it and pulled a handgun, and pointed it at her, directly at her forehead.

And she… held her hand out to it… as if to gently stroke its front.

Then time stopped… as she held her hand like that… the battle stopped moving, the humans and aliens locked in deadly battle had ceased moving. All of it stopped the moment she moved to touch the Gremlin.

" **Yes… I know 'you'~…"** She hissed warmly, with a loving look on her face, so happy to see her mentor, even though it was merely a Gremlin. **"I know… it's 'you'~."**

She moved her hand forward, to touch the Gremlin… and the instant her hand made contact… it dissolved into nothing. Everything dissolved into nothing around her, leaving her once again in the remains of the abandoned town.

She sighed softly as she wished her illusion had lasted longer.

Suddenly she heard an engine roaring above her, and looked up to see a dark flying human vessel pass by overhead.

For a moment, she thought she'd heard her coms going off, but she ignored it as she smiled.

" **I know you… we've been here before…"** She hissed quietly.

(Hawkeye's PoV, twenty minutes earlier)

"So when were you planning on telling the rest of us that you and Mercy were dating?" Eagleeye asked next to him as they sat in the Skyranger.

"Before Puppy found out." He replied, burying his face in his hand.

It had happened, just as Hawkeye and Mercy had expected, not two seconds after they and the rest of the Sharks were called together, she had screamed to everyone that he and Mercy were 'dating'. Or at least a couple.

Naturally the news had hit everyone quite shockingly, only two individuals had known beforehand that he and Mercy were a thing, Sharptooth and of course The Commander himself.

But unlike Puppy who just couldn't contain herself, The Commander had been all serious and told them to assemble for a late-night mission.

All of them were equipped with some new experimental weapon ammunition types, something Shen came up with that would make their weapons more effective in battle. Even SHIV had new plasma ammunition, specifically for its turret mode to compensate for its overhauled delivery system.

 **[This concept of 'dating' is strange… Commander, what does 'dating' mean?]** SHIV asked innocently.

Thinking of SHIV, he looked up to see SHIV turn its turret to look at the Commander's Gremlin, who was hovering at the front of the Skyranger.

Puppy was sitting with her legs resting on SHIV's chassis because there wasn't enough room for all of them to sit there in the Skyranger. This was the first time The Commander had taken SHIV onto the Skyranger 'prior' to a mission beginning. Normally SHIV is strapped to their Firestorm fighter, and waiting to be dropped into a mission sight, but this time he had brought SHIV aboard the Skyranger for the mission.

 _[Stop with the pointless chatter SHIV.]_ The Commander responded instantly, before moving to the cockpit of the ship through a door in the Skyranger.

"Is it just me, or is The Commander on edge this mission?" T-Rex asked. "He's more serious than I am when it's Noodle Soup day!"

"At least someone is on edge for the mission…" Sharptooth whispered, but then smirked nonchalantly. "Someone else is going to have a lot of explaining to do when we get back, a 'lot' of explaining to do."

"What's there to explain, Mercy is Hawkeye's girlfriend~!" Puppy asked with a grin.

"Do you have to make a big deal out of it?" Hawkeye asked quietly.

" **Yes… what is… uh… 'big deal'?"** Mercy hissed curiously next to him.

"The big deal, is that prior to today, no 'human' has ever had a personal relationship with an alien. At least, none that we know about that was positive!" Sharptooth stated. "Remember, the whole 'planet occupation', 'species-wide extermination', and everything else? Outside of the Advent cities, not a lot of people are fans of aliens, Viper or otherwise."

"Well I guess it was bound to happen?" Hawkeye said quietly.

"It's only a big deal if you make it one…" Falcon whispered wisely. "We know Mercy as much as any normal girl… Puppy excluded."

"HEY!" Puppy screamed angrily.

"If she and Hawkeye wish to pursue a relationship together… that is their choice… who are we to decide whether it is right or wrong?" Falcon asked.

"We aren't saying its wrong or right Falcon…" Eagleeye said as his Gremlin floated around him. "But a lot of the crew back on the Avenger might not be as positive about this little turn of events as we are."

"Well they don't know Mercy and Hawkeye like 'we' do!" Puppy said proudly. "If they knew what they've had to go through, they'd be a little more understanding!"

"Says the sixteen-year-old kid who hasn't ever had a boyfriend." Sharptooth giggled.

"SHUT IT Sharptooth!" Puppy barked.

"Watch out kiddies, Puppy's got some puppy teeth to go with her bark!" T-Rex laughed.

"I just want what's best for my teammates!" Puppy complained, leaning back in her chair. "Someone's gotta keep an eye on you guys, might as well be me!"

"That's our puppy, watching our backs." Eagleeye said proudly.

"If I don't, then who will?" Puppy barked angrily, even as her Gremlin floated above her and spun around.

" **Is… being your… 'girlfriend'… really so bad?"** Mercy hissed quietly to him.

As he looked at her he saw the worried expression on her face, but he shook his head and held her hand with his own.

"No, they just don't want anything bad to happen to us, that's all!" He said assuredly. "It's just their way of showing their concern."

" **I am glad… because I don't want to have to lose being with you… now that I 'can' be with you Hawkeye…"** She said warmly, smiling her gentle smile.

"Ahem…" Sharptooth coughed loudly, causing them both to look at her, and her smug expression. "You know, we're all right here… and we can hear every word you guys are saying, right?"

Just like Sharptooth said, everyone with exception to Falcon, who seemed to be concerning himself with examining his weapon, was grinning at the two of them with smug expressions like Sharptooth.

"Listen you two, I've been around the block a few times… I know you want to get all lovey dovey right now… but wait until 'after' the mission. Then you can ask us to let you two have the bunk room to yourselves for a while." Eagleeye said with a chuckle.

Minutes later the Commander floated back into their section, and floated at the front where he usually waited to debrief them on their mission.

 _[Alright Sharks, listen up, its mission time!]_ He said as the screen came online and Central's face showed up.

 _{Listen up, as of one hour ago, the Council Spokesman has told us about an EXALT operative, who managed to infiltrate and steal highly classified information related to Advent's chain of command!}_ Central said, as an image of the EXALT insignia appeared. _{We don't know how they obtained it, but they managed to steal military secrets and information, from the highest levels to the lowest desk job in Advent's administration. Before they could transmit it though, Advent caught up to them, and the operative was forced to hide it before being killed.}_

 _{We're dropping you off in an unnamed location in the area that used to be Central United States. Your job is to go in, locate the information that was hidden, and extract it before Advent has a chance to destroy the data!}_

The Commander floated forward to address them now.

 _[This mission is a massive danger zone; we're going into a trap set up by the Hierarch Mother.]_ He said. _[Despite my 'intentions'… I have no choice but to lead us into this trap… The Hierarch Mother doesn't know if or 'when' we're coming… but she is expecting us. And she's prepared for us this time… as you know by now… she's scheduled to be executed.]_

 _[Despite the urging of… Agent Mercy… this mission is 'not' to rescue her… we are specifically here to retrieve the data and evacuate as soon as possible.]_ He said sternly, letting them all know the mission detail specifics, and leaving no hint as to any alternative plans.

" **But… Commander…"** Mercy hissed hopefully, but the second she did he turned back to Central and the viewscreen.

 _[We're going to drop into an abandoned town, along the outer districts near a ruined housing section. We're aiming to move silently to avoid detection, and alerting Advent to our presence. SHIV is joining us from the start for the sole purpose of providing us heavy firepower should we need it from the beginning.]_

" **Commander… isn't there…"** Mercy tried to ask again, but was now drowned out by Central's briefing.

 _{Scans indicate Advent presence in the area, mostly patrols of Troopers, security is light… but knowing the Hierarch Mother, she's got forces hiding, waiting for us to appear. We're going to try and avoid entering buildings as much as possible, but we will travel through the back yards of various houses to avoid detection… once we locate a transmission signal that the Council gave us, we'll be able to better locate the data…}_

"Commander…" Hawkeye finally said, making the Commander interrupt.

 _[What is it… Agent Hawkeye?]_ The Commander said, but his voice sounded very annoyed.

"Commander, isn't there… some way to save Mercy's species' leader?" He said, trying to help Mercy as best he could.

Everyone looked at the Commander, and Puppy pulled back into her chair ever so slightly, as if trying to get away from him.

 _[As long as the Hierarch Mother is trying to capture me, to simply hand me over to Advent… I have no reason to save her… under 'any' condition.]_ He stated. _[That is all I have to say on the subject… any other questions?]_

At that moment, the lights changed from red to yellow.

 _[Lock and load Sharks!]_

With a worried sigh, Hawkeye pulled his weapon out and checked to make sure his weapon was ready. Around him the rest of the sharks readied their weapons, including Puppy who checked the charges of her Laser Rifle, and Eagleeye who checked his Gremlin's various hacking and attacking protocols.

"I'm sorry Mercy." He whispered as everyone got up, just as the Skyranger lurched to a stop.

" **I know… I know…"** She hissed back sadly.

The lights changed to green now, and with that the Skyranger's ramp opened.

[We're here kiddies, have fun down there!] The pilot said over the intercom.

 _[Let's move!]_ The Commander called out, before floating forward.

The first to leave the Skyranger was SHIV, who floated out and down, followed by the ropes normally lowered down for the rest of them. One by one they each ran forward, grabbed a rope, and slid down toward the abandoned remains of a town.

As he landed he took out his weapon and aimed around him, making sure the area was secured as his fellow Sharks landed one at a time around him.

Puppy was the last one to land, and soon the Skyranger took off into the night.

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy looked around as she landed and stared at the old human town that she and the other Sharks had landed in.

The town was a location, riddled with overgrown weeds, taking over the once well-kept city of human civilization. The various buildings were partially destroyed, covered in weeds and vines, the streets riddled with the remains of human life from well over twenty years ago. Destroyed cars and damaged walls, burned down buildings and overturned trash cans were all that remained of the location.

But the one thing she heard, was the pure silence of the town. Not a single sound could be heard, not even birds or insects, even the wind itself seemed to have chosen to remain silent at that moment.

"Creepy…" Puppy whispered quietly.

Mercy glanced down and saw a torn-up newspaper, apparently melted into the pavement of the sidewalk. The newspaper showed an image of a medium-scout vessel, raining down destruction upon a tower, constructed by humans. The heading read, 'Over One Million Die in Paris, France Government Surrenders!'.

Below that story was a sub heading, which showed hundreds of cars fleeing a city, with the image of a Scout Ship high overhead. The heading for that story read, 'Thousands Flee City Settlements, World Governments Fail to Stop Invaders!'

"Never thought I'd be in one of these places again…" Sharptooth whispered quietly as they all looked around.

"Place looks like it's seen better days." Puppy whispered in agreement.

"Hey guys… look!" T-Rex called out, making them turn to what he was pointing at.

Over to their left they saw a sign that featured the street name and the city's name. Unfortunately, the sign had been scratched out, with the names of both the street and city wiped and scratched away.

What was suspicious though, as Mercy looked closer at the sign, was that the sign had been wiped 'recently', as a plasma burn was still very fresh upon the sign.

" **It almost like… someone did that on purpose."** Mercy said in confusion. **"But who would do that and for what reason?"**

But her confusion only grew as she watched her leader do something very out of character. The Commander floated in front of the sign and stared at it through his gremlin's optics, and placed a claw on it. She was very confused at that, because she had expected him to start ordering them to their objective, but for several minutes, they did nothing, just watch him staring at the sign.

"Uh… Commander…" Hawkeye said. "Where are we?"

Silence was all they heard before at long last, he lowered his claw and spoke to them.

 _[A place… I didn't want 'anyone' to ever find… none of you… should be here.]_ He said sadly. _[This place is classified above 'all' levels of XCOM's security levels. This… is the town I grew up in.]_

Silence before Puppy gasped in awe.

"We're in… your 'hometown'?" She asked in amazement.

 _[No… this is merely where I grew up… where I was born is still classified… and only 'I' will ever know.]_ He said. _[Let's move… I don't want to be here any longer than needed.]_

They all began to move forward, following the street they had been dropped on, moving cautiously and with the Gremlins constantly scanning for threats. But Central and the Gremlins declared that they were alone still.

Mercy looked around at every building they passed, feeling the ghosts of the past pressing around her, knowing that she and her fellow Sharks were in a place that meant far more to their Commander than any other location. She had learned that humans treasure the places where they are born, or grow up in, so the mere fact that this location was going to be destroyed by her Hierarch Mother, meant that he had even more reason to avoid saving her.

As they passed by another street which intersected theirs, she saw that the street signs here, had also been wiped, the names of the streets erased, further adding to her curiosity as to 'why' were the signs wiped clean.

" **Where are we… what city is this?"** She hissed to the others.

"Wouldn't know." Falcon replied. "We are not to know; it is classified information."

"I don't think it would matter nowadays, I mean, the place is going to be destroyed, why keep the name a secret?" Puppy stated.

 _[It is classified because 'I' said so!]_ The Commander snapped angrily.

They continued without further conversation, at least until they reached an elementary school. The building had been abandoned, like all the other buildings around them, the windows shattered, doors hanging open and broken, a section of the roof caved in, and the sign which indicated the school's name destroyed.

But the message the sign had stated that the school was closed, and upon seeing the sign The Commander stopped to look at it.

 _[My school…]_ He whispered sadly, floating toward it for a moment before stopping. _[I remember going there… for many years… do any of you remember Elementary school?]_

They all remained silent before he continued.

(Commander's PoV)

 _[I remember school… every morning I had my mom wake me up, and take me to school an hour before classes began…]_ He said. _[Not a lot of kids liked waking up and going that early… but I did… because breakfast was my favorite time in school besides lunch. Breakfast was always boring, peanut butter and jelly cracker sandwiches. But… if you were the first one hundred kids who showed up for breakfast… you got warm super donuts…]_

He sighed fondly, remembering those donuts as a kid.

 _[The cracker sandwiches were terrible, tasted like pencil shavings, and the peanut butter and jelly barely tasted like what they were named after. If you had to eat them, you only ate them just to deal with the day until lunch came around. You complained about the food, you ate it bitterly, you gossiped and groaned, complained and everything else school kids did. But if you got that warm donut, you had a good morning before class.]_

 _[I knew a lunch lady there… all the lunch ladies knew me really, and they always saved me a donut for when I showed up the rare time I was slow or late. They were like that for years with me… sure I started to hate school as the years went by, but I always loved getting those warm donuts at breakfast time… so I made it my task to go early, even if I hated the school days. The donut made waking up at six or seven in the morning, just for breakfast, worth the effort.]_

He looked sadly at his school, and for a moment, saw it in its former glory, with the windows showing the insides of the various classes, school projects proudly displayed, even seeing the images of kids with school bags slumped over their bags walking toward the building.

Then it was gone, and all he saw was a broken-down building.

He took one last look, before moving on down the street, examining the buildings.

 _[Central… any signal yet?]_

 _{Nothing yet Commander.}_ He responded.

 _{Still nothing Commander, I'll keep scanning, as you get closer I'll eventually find it.}_ Shen said.

He continued moving down the street, taking a turn and heading down another street as he moved onward.

As he moved, he came across a shopping district and spotted one place that caused him to pause as well.

 _[GamerStop… how I remember that place…]_ He whispered sadly.

"GamerStop… I remember that place as well." T-Rex said over the coms. "My dad said he always went there for games back in Jamaica!"

 _[He wasn't the only one…]_ He said longingly. _[I used to go there with my friends… never could get even a 'few' of the games there, but I loved simply going there to see the games they had. They even had this one game called Z-COM… can you imagine a game, in which a secret world agency was created to combat and conceal the presence of zombies across the world? It was a strategy game in which some 'unknown person' controlled an organization, created a base, commanded soldiers, and battled zombies while the government tried to keep it contained.]_

"Talk about a stupid concept…" Puppy stated. "Zombies… really? Who would play a game like that?"

 _[I would have… if I ever had the chance back then...]_ He said. _[Never got to play the demo though… sad the game wasn't released before the war happened…]_

They continued after he took one last look, and after another ten minutes he paused yet again, as he saw yet another pair of landmarks from his past.

 _[My favorite pizza joint… how I miss it…]_ He said. _[I liked eating pizza there… the owner always liked seeing me because I was his favorite customer. Every week my mother gave me money to get myself food, and I always spent it away there on his overpriced food that no doubt barely succeeded in getting past health inspectors. The pizza was greasy, the fries salty, the soda too sugary… but of course for a kid back then, that was paradise and I always felt I could have lived off that food for the rest of my life.]_

 _[He gave me a discount because I always came in to hear his stories… turned out he was one of those scout leaders. I never was in the scouts, but he was one… a very important one, even had an Eagle Feather that he was allowed and authorized to have. I always asked about where he got it, and how I could get one… but he said I had to earn it. To this day… I still never figured out how to earn an Eagle Feather…]_

"Sounds like a great place to me Commander…" Eagleeye said. "Wouldn't have minded hanging out there if I were younger…"

He looked over at the other restaurant, a classier looking place, but no less broken and destroyed.

 _[Meanwhile across the street, was that British lady's restaurant, no doubt meant for older people to enjoy tea and biscuits, or whatever else older people ate in those days. I stopped by there a couple times, once a week at least.]_ He said. _[I always made sure to avoid being seen by my pizza place's restaurant, because I didn't want to offend him… but I always regretted going there because that stupid old lady who ran it always made me some stupid food.]_

 _[She always made the same thing, fish and chips… she said it was home cooking, and always said, 'here kid, try some good English cooking from my home, instead of that fat-greasy stuff you call food'. I always wanted to tell her, no I don't want any, but I stuffed it down because I didn't want to offend her each time she offered it. It wasn't horrible but… my stomach was coddled by fast food… so I never developed a taste… but I loved telling her about my school days… she always listened to me complaining. Sometimes she even helped me get through the day simply by lending me her ear…]_

He looked only for a few more moments before pressing on, continuing down the streets that were all too familiar, even though he had yet to walk them for years.

 _{Commander, I'm detecting a signal… its close by and transmitting on a low frequency…}_ Shen declared. _{Looks like your heading in the right direction.}_

"Wow… look at this dump." Puppy said as she and the others turned down another street, past an abandoned gas station, where several houses were.

He looked around only momentarily before seeing an old playground, the swing sets were destroyed, the tire swing gone, the playground slides blown up, the wood shavings long gone.

 _[I remember that playground… I used to play there all the time when I was a kid.]_ He commented to them, floating past the playground as he did. _[Got into my first fight with a bully there too. He destroyed my book I was reading there, never bothered me again after that. My mother forbade me from playing there after that happened, I almost got run over because of my fight… but I always found a way to sneak over there after school.]_

Moments after they left the playground area behind, and walked further down the street, passing by abandoned and run down homes, his squad noticed the first signs of Advent.

"We got company Sharks!" Eagleeye said, causing everyone to switch to his vision.

Off to their side, a trio of Advanced Advent Troopers were patrolling. Fortunately, they had their backs to them, and they didn't notice them as he quickly ordered his Sharks into defensive positions.

"We can take em…" Puppy barked quietly over the com. "Three sniper shots, they'll be dead before they even know what hit em!"

" **I have a clean shot on one Commander."** Mercy hissed quietly, preparing her first shot and lining it up.

 _[No, everyone into the back alley, this way!]_ He ordered instead, directing them to follow a path into the back alley nearby.

They followed his orders, and quickly entered the back alley without the Troopers noticing.

"Why are we sneaking Commander, if we're close we can just kill them, locate the intel, and then get out!" Sharptooth stated.

 _[If we shoot now, the Hierarch Mother will spring her trap, right now she doesn't know where, when, or even 'if' we're coming. So, until I say so, we won't be playing into her hands.]_ He declared, before floating over to Puppy to look at her directly. _[So no shooting!]_

"Shooting… who said anything about shooting?"Puppy said quietly.

With that he floated forward down the alley, directing them through their helmets to follow his path.

"Why does he always pick on me?" Puppy whispered quietly.

"Stop barking and giving him excuses to 'kid'." Sharptooth whispered.

"Look who's talking big mouth!" She barked back.

 _[Keep it down!]_ He growled instantly, silencing them just as his Gremlin gained new intel from Central and Shen.

On either side of them were two rows of houses on the block, and patrolling along both streets in front of those houses, were over a dozen individual patrols, each consisting of at least two or three Advent Troopers, Officers, Shield Bearers and aliens ranging from Sectoids, Mutons, to Vipers and other biological aliens.

They had not noticed them because he had quickly directed his Sharks into the back alley, but they were on very high alert for anything that was even slightly suspicious. If they heard his Sharks arguing and talking loudly, they would investigate and their hidden status would be lost.

Then they'd be in the middle of a firefight, surrounded on all sides by Advent forces.

 _{These guys are on edge Commander; I've never seen so many patrols packed together in close proximity to one another. Only the patrols around the Avalon Facility were even closer. They are definitely protecting something important here!}_

 _{That signal is getting stronger Commander, I'm detecting a faint energy signature nearby.}_ Shen said. _{I'm running a diagnostic on the signature, but it seems to have a signature resembling plasma, yet its running on a very old frequency… I'll probably have more info when you get closer!}_

 _[Understood, keep me informed.]_ He answered.

They continued down the alley, moving from cover to cover and keeping out of sight. Despite no patrols moving along the alley, he was being very careful to keep their presence as hidden as possible.

Eventually though they reached the end of the alley and came across an intersecting street. He ordered Eagleeye and Falcon forward to check the streets sides and check to see if it was safe.

"Clear!" Eagleeye said.

"Clear…" Falcon reported.

 _[Move forward!]_ He ordered.

Instantly everyone began running to cross the street and to the next alley, Mercy was the last one and she reported that just as she slid behind an overturned dumpster, a patrol walked forward on either side of the street.

 _[Patrols are getting heavier with each passing second.]_ He commented. _[How much further till the signal Shen?]_

 _{It's getting clearer, and it clearly has a plasma signature.}_ Shen reported. _{But the signal is strange, it seems to be coming on a very low frequency, in fact I can barely even register it, only your Gremlins can detect it so it must be close by because the range is so low.}_

They continued to move down the new alley, having his Sharks going double time to race through the alley as quickly as possible. SHIV's gravity surge generators keeping it floating hummed loudly, but fortunately it wasn't loud enough to be detected or heard by the many Advent Patrols.

When they reached the end of the alley though, they found themselves at another intersection, more specifically a cul-de-sac… a very familiar cul-de-sac to him.

 _{Commander, that signal is very close by!}_ Central said. _{Judging by how strong it's coming in now, it's probably within a few meters of you!}_

"So its somewhere here?" Hawkeye asked quietly, looking around to see a bunch of buildings with lawns in front of them.

" **Strange place… why do you humans build like this?"** Mercy hissed.

"Well at least there's no patrols here." Puppy said.

He flew forward, forgetting to tell his Sharks orders, but they seemed to get the message and followed behind him.

"Wow… so this is… one of those cul-de-sacs, right?" Puppy asked.

"Yep, this is a pretty nice one… if it weren't for the destroyed houses and broken windows… it would be a nice place to live here!" Eagleeye said.

He however ignored them and flew toward a house in the center of the ring of houses, the only house that was not destroyed, broken into, burned down or otherwise damaged. It was one story house, and like the others it still had broken windows but otherwise was mostly intact. Outside of the house a badly damaged but still in one piece, picnic chair stood, right next to the tree.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"Hey guys!" Puppy said, running toward a mailbox in front of him. "Check it out…"

He and the others walked over and saw the mailbox, the last name on the mailbox was wiped away, burned off with plasma just like all the other signs they found thus far.

"Who would go through all the trouble of wiping away every street name, every sign, every single 'thing' that even has a name on it, and for what reason?" He asked.

" **This is strange…"** Mercy hissed in agreement. **"This was done recently… very recently."**

That was when he looked and noticed The Commander's Gremlin, looking at a tree in front of a house. Yet the only thing he noticed was that the tree had something carved into it. He walked over and with the other Sharks, joined The Commander at where he was.

The tree he saw, was mostly burned down, but the lower half of the tree was still intact and still had a carved inscription on it. Four words had been carved into the tree, but one word had been burned away by Plasma, leaving only three left to be read.

"Amelie and… BFF!" Sharptooth said out loud. "What kind of… wait a moment."

Sharptooth had said it out loud, but everyone had put two and two together in their minds the moment they all saw what was carved into that tree trunk.

"Is that…" T-Rex asked quietly.

The Commander was silent before turning to the tree trunk, staring at the inscribed message, and putting his Gremlin's attached claw on the tree and resting it there.

 _[Yes… this is my home… the house I grew up in… as a child.]_ He said quietly.

"So… then…" Puppy said, pointing at the tree trunk. "Your name is… Amelie?"

At that, Sharptooth groaned, and bopped Puppy on the head with her fist.

"You idiot, no, that's a 'girl's' name!" She said.

 _{Commander, your right-on top of the signal, whatever it is we're supposed to find its right under you!}_ Central said. _{Find that intel cache and let's get out of here, before Advent notices you, because you're out in the open in that cul-de-sac!}_

The Commander looked at the house and told him and Mercy to find something to dig with, while the other Sharks took up defensive positions around the cul-de-sac, in case Advent walked in on them.

"I can't believe we're in the Commander's home town…" He whispered quietly, walking with her toward the only building still standing.

" **Is this place… 'sacred' to you?"** She asked nervously.

"Well no… but nobody knows 'anything' about the Commander, not his name, race, nationality, nothing…" He answered. "So standing in his home town, even entering his home, it's like… a huge deal!"

" **I guess… being here… means a lot to him?"** She replied as they walked toward a garage.

The garage door slid open, and lying next to a very dusty wall was a shovel. The floor was caked with dust and the walls looked like they had been painted with dust, but the shovels weren't dusty at all.

"Weird… something isn't making any sense!" He commented to her privately.

" **Nothing does here."** Mercy hissed in agreement. **"Do you… suspect trap?"**

"Why would there be a trap here… and what kind, in fact 'who'?" He asked her. "These shovels weren't here for years; they were just placed here. The signs didn't get their names wiped by plasma decades ago, someone did it recently. I don't think this is a trap, I think someone is hiding something."

" **But what?"** She asked him.

"I don't know, but in any case… let's go." He said, taking a shovel and handing one to her while he took the other.

Once they returned to the others the Commander called the Sharks together and he assigned both Puppy and T-Rex to shoveling, while the others kept their eyes peeled for trouble.

 **[Scans reading negative on any enemy contacts!]** SHIV declared proudly. **[But I'm bored… when can we fight some Advent Forces?]**

 _[Quiet…]_ He said.

"How come I have to dig?" Puppy grunted, while shoveling dirt around the tree.

"Relax little girl, this is an easy mission…" T-Rex said with a laugh. "When we get home, we can binge watch some Looney Toons!"

"I could use a laugh after today…" Sharptooth grunted, shifting the weight of her gun around in her arms.

"But why are we digging here… wouldn't the EXALT operative have hidden the intel cache somewhere else. Or at least why isn't there a pile of dirt we could check first?" Hawkeye asked the Commander.

 _[Central said it's here, so we check here.]_ He replied.

-CLANG-

They all snapped to the digging area, and they saw that Puppy had tensed up when her shovel hit something made of steel just below the thin layer of dirt she was about to dig up. Quickly Puppy reached down into the two-foot hole, and wiped away more dirt, before grunting and pulling up a small, thin steel object.

It was roughly two feet long, one foot wide, shaped like a cylinder but made of a clearly alien alloy. Along the top of the object was what looked like a series of buttons with two square shaped holes on either side. The buttons were all glowing emerald and with writing in a very alien language.

 _[That's it…]_ The Commander said as Puppy took it and put it on the picnic table.

"That's what we're here for… doesn't look like an intel cache to me." Puppy said loudly in confusion. "I was expecting like a data disc or… something along the lines of a transmitter!"

" **Correct assumption, little Human!"**

Hawkeye snapped up with his weapon and saw, leaving one of the destroyed remains of a building with a smug look on her face, none other than the Hierarch Mother. She was flanked by eight Vipers, each wearing specialized armor.

Around them from the other houses, and even from the buildings and back alley they had just left, dozens of Advent Troopers and soldiers appeared, weapons trained and aimed at them all.

They were surrounded.

 _{Commander, you're completely surrounded, I've got transports on radar heading your way with reinforcements.}_ Central said. _{Get out of there!}_

 _[I can see the situation Central…]_ He replied coldly.

He and the other Sharks grabbed their weapons and aimed in every direction, SHIV too had readied its cannons and took aim.

 **[Enemies spotted!]** SHIV said.

"Yea, we noticed." Sharptooth grunted.

"Commander… what are we going to do…" Puppy asked nervously, her weapon twitching from side to side as she tried to decide on a target. "We're in the open, there's no cover, and we're surrounded!"

"Stay calm little girl…" T-Rex said quietly, but he too sounded nervous.

" **Hawkeye…"** Mercy hissed to him quietly, getting as close as she could to him.

"Yea… I'm right with you…" He whispered.

The Hierarch Mother though, had eyes only for The Commander, as she was smiling the entire time she stared at him. Even as she slithered closer and closer, the look on her face showed absolute pride and joy.

" **Well, well, well… look at what we have here…"** She hissed in amusement as her Viper guards positioned themselves to surround them. **"XCOM's leader, and his infamous 'Land Sharks' squad. You have caused a great deal of trouble for me these many, many months."** She looked at each of them, but returned her gaze to the Gremlin. **"Even with all of my planning, all of my resources, everything I had to throw against you… you still manage to elude and interrupt the plans of the Elders. But now… the game is up… I have you 'right' where I want you."**

"Don't count on it scale face!" Sharptooth yelled, aiming her Plasma Sniper at her, but twelve weapons returned the favor by aiming straight at her.

The Hierarch Mother shook her head in amusement. **"Such ferocity, even though your completely surrounded, with no hope of escape… still so defiant. I admire such commitment, even if it is ultimately futile in the end."** She hissed. **"Tell me my 'mentor'… was that little thing worth all of this effort… all of this trouble… is it worth… 'dying for'?"**

Silence was all that could be heard, but in their helmets he was giving them orders.

He had ordered Hawkeye and Mercy to target the troopers on the left, Sharptooth and Eagleeye to target the ones on the right. T-Rex had been ordered to launch a grenade with Falcon into the clumps of troopers at the rear. Puppy was to fire at a shield bearer on the side.

 _[That depends… what's inside?]_ He asked.

The Hierarch Mother grinned and glanced at the small object on the table. **"I recognize it you know… it's a capsule, designed to contain something unless opened with a specific key."** She hissed quietly, pulling out a small plasma pistol from her holster. **"Knowing you, which I 'do'… you wouldn't have dared come here unless you had the key… so, where is it?"**

 _{Key, we weren't told about a key?}_ Central said in confusion.

 _{I'm running a diagnostic on that object, keep stalling!}_ Shen said instantly. _{If I can scan it, I think I can fabricate a key or find a way to open it once we get it back.}_

Silence again before the Commander sighed. _[SHIV, come here…]_ He ordered.

 **[Yes Commander?]** SHIV asked, obeying the order.

 _[Open the compartment.]_ He declared.

 **[B… b… but Commander… it's against regulations and protocols!]** SHIV said in fear. **[You gave me specific instructions to not open it unless all personnel below clearance level red are not within visual or audio range!]**

 _[I said… Open. The. Compartment!]_ He said angrily.

 **[Y… yes sir!]** SHIV said fearfully.

Everyone watched as SHIV turned around, and a small thin box opened at the rear of its chassis. Then a slit appeared, and opened to reveal a small compartment. In that compartment, a small thin 'object' half the size of a playing card, glowing green and with thin lines of plasma streaming through it.

 _{What is that thing…}_ Central asked in confusion.

 _{That's what was inside the compartment? Why is that in there…}_ Shen asked in confusion as well. _{My dad created a compartment inside the most sophisticated piece of engineering specifically to house that… whatever it is?}_

Everyone looked at it for a moment before the Hierarch Mother began to laugh hysterically, causing all of them to aim weapons at her.

" **You… fool!"** She yelled gleefully. **"Of all the stupid… things… to die for! You have one key… but that container requires 'TWO' keys to unlock it!"** She continued to laugh so hard that she had to clutch her chest with one hand, while still aiming the pistol at them. **"You led your forces… on a wild 'vermin' chase. Even if you did retrieve it… you can't unlock it without a specific plasma signature… a signature that cannot be replicated because it requires 'genetic' material! You're going to get your forces killed specifically to retrieve a worthless object to you!"**

At that though she looked up and smiled warmly. **"That is… unless you surrender yourself my mentor. Surrender yourself… and I'll allow you to evacuate your soldiers unharmed… I'll even withdraw my forces. But if you stay…"** She hissed warningly. **"So… do we have an agreement?"**

At that he sent them a countdown, of twelve seconds to their helmets.

 _[I'm afraid Hierarch Mother… I'm unable to acquiesce to your demands…]_ He said, to which she stared in confusion at his words. _[Or… in lame man's term… it means 'no'.]_

 _[NOW]_ His voice screamed loudly, but not just from the Gremlin, but from every direction, as if from loud speakers.

At that moment, several beams of red and weapons fire sounded, and humans wearing Kevlar armor and wearing masks and glasses jumped up from positions around them. Hidden among the various destroyed buildings as well, were EXALT forces, and upon being revealed, a huge firefight broke out.

Yet before any of the Sharks could carry out their orders, the seven Viper guards used their tongues and wrapped up each individual member of the Land Sharks Squad, binding them in tight vices and swiftly disarming them.

"Graaaaaa!" Puppy screamed as she tried to get free. "GET… OFF… ME YOU… FREAK!"

" **Hiyaaaasss…"** The Viper holding him hissed venomously, keeping him bound tightly and preventing him from moving even a muscle freely.

But he could see still, and he watched the battle taking place while he and the Sharks were trapped.

All around them weapons fired, and even the Hierarch Mother began firing at the EXALT forces. SHIV was firing on Advent Troopers while the Commander took cover behind SHIV. One by one the EXALT forces began overwhelming the surrounded and out of position Advent forces, and then one EXALT Operative, a woman by the looks of it, pull something strapped to her waist and run at the Hierarch Mother.

Said Hierarch Mother noticed and began firing wildly to try and kill the operative, but all her shots missed. Then, just as she reloaded her weapon, the EXALT soldier ran up and aimed the device at her, and pulled a trigger.

" **Gyehaaaaaaahaaaa!"** She screamed as electricity flew out and entrapped her.

However, the electrical surge lasted only a few seconds before the device shorted out, and she was knocked away by the Hierarch Mother's tail. Meanwhile, around her the remaining Advent Forces were gunned down, and the last of them killed just as the Commander came out of hiding and pulled a pistol from his Gremlin's compartment, and aimed it at her head.

In response, she turned and aimed her pistol back at him, glaring furiously at him.

 _[You're not getting out of here alive…]_ He said as the EXALT forces aimed weapons at her, unwilling to fire at the Vipers still holding him and the other Sharks hostage now.

The Hierarch mother glanced between him and the Exalt operatives, with a look of fear and worry in her eyes, before turning to glare angrily at him.

Then she took a deep, calm, steadying breath, looked him right in the optics and pushed her weapon an inch closer to him.

" **Bang."**


	29. Chapter 29

{No transmissions detected. . .}

{All systems standing by. . .}

=Chapter 29, Operation Poison Fang=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

" **Bang."** The Hierarch Mother hissed.

There was silence as everyone waited, The Hierarch Mother's Viper guard holding all of them hostage, while The Commander, SHIV, and Exalt held 'her' hostage. It was a standoff he knew, if any side made a move, there would be bloodshed.

He expected the Commander to negotiate his and the other's release in exchange for her living, but that wasn't what happened.

 _[Pfft… pft… hmmpfcfh…]_ He began to snort.

" **Ksh… kffpft… ha…"** She began to snort as well.

 _[Heh… Hahahahah…]_ He laughed out loud now, lowering his pistol and his Gremlin shaking constantly.

" **Hahaha hahaaaaaa…"** She laughed as well, clutching her chest in amusement.

 _[BANG? That's the first word you say to me, is 'bang'?]_ He asked loudly, still laughing insanely.

" **I'm sorry… I could not resist!"** She answered back, trying and failing to stifle a laugh. **"And what about that 'you're not getting out of here alive' line, it was taking everything to keep straight face!"**

Now he was confused, he looked between the Commander and the Hierarch Mother, trying to figure out what was going on. He would have asked but the Viper still holding him was keeping her hand firmly placed over his mouth to prevent him from speaking, and binding him tightly to keep him from moving.

"Commander… what is going on?" Sharptooth managed to yell as she finally wiggled her mouth free of her Viper.

 _[Ah yes, since we've finally hit this stage in the plan, would you please let my agents go?]_ He said politely.

" **Of course…"** She hissed. **"Histes normarashisst!"**

As one all seven of the eight Viper guards holding them released them, and even picked up and handed them their fallen weapons. At the same time the Exalt soldiers lowered their weapons and relaxed their stances.

"Okay now I'm confused." Puppy whispered as she moved next to him and the others, keeping her weapon ready and aimed at the Vipers. "Weren't we just about to kill these guys?"

" **I am confused as well…"** Mercy hissed quietly to him.

"Yea, dis is strange Sharks." T-Rex said quietly.

"All I know is, we were moments away from being caught in a huge crossfire with Advent, and now we're alive and… apparently, friends?" Sharptooth whispered quietly as well.

 _[Alright, listen up sharks because I've got a 'lot' to explain.]_ The Commander said, floating toward them all. _[Now not a peep to Central yet, I've turned off communications with him and the others while I explain the situation to you all.]_ He turned to look toward the Hierarch Mother who nodded in understanding. _[As you all know, the Hierarch Mother is one of the leaders on the Advent High Council, but what none of you know, is that she is in fact… a double agent working for me.]_

"Whoa whoa whoa wait a minute!" Puppy barked. "You're telling me that the Hierarch Mother… Mercy's species' leader… is on 'our' side?"

 _[Exactly Puppy.]_ He answered. _[For the past several years, ever since XCOM rescued me and I was reinstated as Commander, she's been helping the resistance grow in strength, by weakening Advent from the inside.]_

" **It was my task to supply targets of interest to… what was name… you call them 'The Council' correct?"** She said. **"Because of my position, I could gather all the vital targets you could ever need. Provided of course… I was monitoring the situation personally; it was not easy getting the information to him, often I had to… what was phrase… 'leak' it to them yes?"**

 _[She also promoted resistance informants to strategically important positions, allowing us to infiltrate Advent facilities and gather intelligence from the inside.]_ He resumed. _[Whenever we were threatened by a serious problem, she found a way to inform me, so that I could prepare for the situation.]_

"So what you're saying, is she was helping us the entire time?" Falcon simplified.

The Hierarch Mother nodded.

"Bull!" Puppy yelled, aiming her rifle at the Hierarch Mother. "If she helped us then why the hell did she force you to leave Gabriella and Pierce to die? What about that ambush she set up for us in XCOM HQ, what about the West American resistance cell that she 'executed'?"

"And what about Venus, she was executed in front of your own eyes?" Sharptooth now said, raising her own weapon to aim at her. "You're telling me that she's on our side but she kills us off at a whim when she has to?"

The Hierarch Mother and the Vipers kept their weapons lowered, despite weapons pointed at her. Instead she shook her head and smiled. **"What did you 'really' see in those transmissions?"** She hissed knowingly. **"You saw me 'execute' someone yes? But did you 'see' me kill Venus… all you saw was a body, heard a bullet, heard some yelling and saw the darkness of a room, and a body on the floor surrounded by what 'looked' like blood? Did you actually see her face while being held captive, before being killed?"**

 _[Venus is very much alive, but she 'had' been discovered, Advent ordered her dead, so she had to put on that performance to help Venus get out alive. The body you saw was just one of the many Advent Soldier corpses we killed that day we destroyed the Avatar Facility, wearing her clothes to make it look like she was killed.]_

" **The ambush at XCOM HQ was not my doing, it was planned out by Roberto, he only put me in charge mere hours before you arrived. I assure you, had I known the plan more extensively, it would have gone differently."** She hissed. **"I had uncovered it with Roberto, and transmitted the leak signal to you, so you could recover anything you could find… but my plan didn't go the way I wanted it to. Roberto created the ambush, and had me perfect it, but I had no time to transmit the details of the ambush to you."**

 _[As for the West American resistance cell, true they had encountered the Widow, but just before it hit them, they were warned to scatter. Central and the XCOM forces that tried to stop it encountered fierce resistance, but were forced to flee. The recorded message we saw was just another performance she set up, using volunteer resistance forces that remained behind. Prior to the actual order being given, the feed cut out, but just as it did, the Vipers and resistance forces turned and killed off all the Advent Troopers. Minimal resistance losses happened, and the Western Resistance cell reformed and contacted us two months later.]_

" **I had reported casualties… heavy casualties on both sides, but the losses were 'acceptable' because for two months, West North America was quiet."** She continued.

"Okay… but what was up with the Widow then?" Hawkeye said now, his suspicions growing.

" **Yes… you sacrificed a male mother… a male… there are so few of them and you sacrificed one without hesitation!"** Mercy said now, also sounding suspicious but more curious.

At that The Hierarch Mother chuckled even more. **"A necessary sacrifice, in the 'grand design' of our plan."** She replied. **"He was absolutely faithful to the Elders my daughter… and as you know… many of your sisters will easily follow one of our males… if they are 'influential' enough. Had he remained alive, the next stage of our plan would have been… difficult to carry out."**

"Plan?" Eagleeye asked.

 _[A five-stage plan… one my subconscious mind conceived of while I was still Advent's prisoner in that suit.]_ The Commander declared.

"What kind of plan?" Sharptooth said, now lowering her weapon.

" **Yes… a plan that was set in motion years ago, and the seeds sewn recently… and only now has finally borne fruit."** The Hierarch Mother said proudly, snapping her fingers.

At her signal, all the Exalt forces began to undo their bandana masks, pull off their sunglasses, and remove their helmets.

He saw to his astonishment, that not one of the Exalt soldiers were 'human'. They looked human but each one had reptilian eyes instead of human eyes, noses that resembled human noses but with 'slits' instead of holes, their chins were angular instead of rounded, and their cheeks were more 'scaly' instead of smooth skin. They even had human hair but it faded from brown or black, to an orange-yellow as it neared the tips.

"Vipers… genetically modified Vipers." Sharptooth whispered in wonder.

"Well I'll be monkey's mother…" T-Rex said in agreement.

"Wait a minute… they look like…" Puppy said, now lowering her weapon in astonishment.

" **Thin Men… why do they look like 'Thin Men'?"** Mercy asked in confusion.

" **Yes… while they do share a striking 'resemblance'…"** The Hierarch Mother said. **"We have had more time to… perfect the genetic alterations to our bodies. I had many of your sisters, those willing, to become altered for the purpose of spearheading the culmination… of five years' effort!"**

At that she grinned proudly, before pulling out her pistol again and aiming at the sky.

" **My daughters will join with the human resistance movement… and together… we will bring down Advent… the Elders… and any who would dare deny us our freedom, and our 'vengeance'! What I declare… here and now… is a Viper Rebellion against our oppressors!"**

(Mercy's PoV)

A Viper Rebellion, her Hierarch Mother had been preparing for a Viper Rebellion for years. But the real question that crossed her mind now, was why?

" **But… why keep it secret?"** She asked in confusion, looking between the two. **"Why not tell us you were working together… why pretend to hate her so much?"**

 _[Because we had to keep her cover secured.]_ The Commander said. _[As you know, information can be obtained easily, Advent has just as many eyes and ears on 'our' side, as we do on 'their' side. I couldn't take any action or make any motives that might have jeopardized her position. Big Sister, the AI I use to gain valuable data when normal informants can't, not only has access to what Advent sees, but what 'we' see.]_

" **Indeed, and if Advent ever learned I was secretly in league with the XCOM resistance forces, aiding the human resistance effort, all of my planning would have been wasted."** She continued. **"We needed time… we needed to keep my intentions a secret for as long as possible… while we carried out our plan."**

"Plan?" Puppy asked.

 _[A five stage plan that has been in the works for years now.]_ The Commander explained. _[Stage one, systemically eliminate all Vipers loyal 'only' to the Elders, both male and female, and not to the Hierarch Mother.]_

" **It pained me to order so many of my daughters and sons to their deaths… but it was necessary."** She continued, seeing the look of shock on her face. **"While stage one was a long process, it allowed time for me to begin stage two, the relocation and allocation of various 'resources' needed for our cause. I took nearly all of my faithful and loyal daughters, as well as those sons that are truly devoted to me and my cause, and positioned them around the world. That and other various… 'resources'."**

 _[Stage two and one were long term, but before we could carry out our plan, we needed to build a stage of trust between an alien species and the human resistance. That is where we hit a snag in our plan… because for it to happen, we needed to show that our two species could work together. So… I came up with the idea to incorporate a Viper into XCOM. If I could get a Viper to join XCOM, become a friend and ally, then we could eventually get our species to work together toward a common goal.]_

" **That was the hard part… while I could have sent any number of daughters to him… most would have been killed by your XCOM or the resistance. We needed someone they would be 'willing' to let live. So, I took to the only weakness I could exploit… human 'mercy'. If you felt even a minute amount of pity, you would be more willing to let her live… which is where my daughter… whom you call 'Mercy'… comes into the picture."**

She looked at her now with a warm smile.

" **You were the first of my daughters to let XCOM go, even those loyal to my cause would have obeyed Advent's order to fight to the death, but you let them go. You risked execution or worse… but you let them go simply to save your life. At that moment, when I was punishing you… I knew I had found my 'messenger'. So, I sent you on that convoy, to be captured and taken by XCOM, and my 'friend'… XCOM's Commander, knew it was you when you were the only Viper in that escort."**

 _[It wasn't just you though, Hawkeye was a big factor as well.]_ He said now, looking over at Hawkeye. _[For our plan to succeed, I needed someone willing to see past a Viper's outer appearance, and see them as a living breathing creature, just like any other animal we'd see. The fact that you held back gave me the opportunity, so instead of using one of the other squads, I used you guys to take the convoy and likewise, bring in Mercy to eventually join our side.]_

" **Once stage three was underway, stage four began… the complete and total destruction, and reduction, of Advent's standing military capabilities."** The Hierarch Mother said. **"As some of you might know, Advent's military lost much of your Commander's tactical information when he was pulled from their psionic network, but one entity still retained his knowledge… me. The only way to eliminate the knowledge and keep it from being gained back, was to eliminate those under me… specifically all of the forces I commanded."**

 _[You noticed by now, that she committed an absurd amount of forces simply to capture me, sacrificing tens of thousands at a whim in areas we planned to destroy or infiltrate. The five thousand plus guarding the Avalon facility, the tens of thousands with the Widow and base we destroyed, more still with XCOM HQ, and the rest at her compound. All were eliminated so that the knowledge she had retained from me, being directly linked with me in the chain, would never spread.]_

" **That stage was two part though, you see, not only were we eliminating my biological forces… but we also needed to eliminate the mechanical forces, to make our plan easier to begin. The virus he and 'Big Sister' created, was designed specifically to travel through the Advent Network… and I gave him the chance with the Widow Base. But… we ran into a problem there… he wasn't supposed to be captured so… easily, if not at all."**

 _[The Widow didn't eliminate enough forces for us to make a clean getaway, so we had to improvise there, eliminating more threats and gathering more intelligence. While I was indeed captured, my intent was to destroy myself to prevent Advent from controlling me, from there the Hierarch Mother would eventually propose the idea of an alliance between XCOM and her Viper rebels. But as you know, I was captured, so we had to change our plans, and she helped me gain insight into key targets while I was captive, which led to the assassination of former 'Agent Viper', AKA Roberto. With one of the top generals in Advent's chain eliminated, it would make our rebellions easier to carry out.]_

" **However… after all the 'failures' I sustained for the sake of the plan, I was scheduled to be executed… and thus the final stage of our plan can now commence."** She declared proudly, beckoning to the Viper/humans. **"Prior to conquering this world, I was tasked with eliminating pockets of resistance, and upon searching various locations… I discovered caches of hidden weapons, technology, disguised and hidden by the organization Exalt. This gave me an idea, and I had my daughters, long before we were put under the control of Psionic Chips, to hide the weapons in new locations for our own use."**

" **Which is where… Exalt came in… he needed a reason to save me, but all the while we had to maintain our deception… so I used the organization name of Exalt to not only begin preemptive strikes against Advent, but also to give XCOM a reason to come here. They saved your Commander, and thus he had no choice but to honor his 'debt' to them by coming here. And now that we are together…"**

She turned to look at him with a smile.

" **The time has come… to begin my friend."**

 _[Not just yet… we have one last thing to do.]_ He said. _[SHIV, come here!]_

 **[Yes sir!]**

SHIV floated over and let his Gremlin's claw take the key it was still holding, and he floated over toward the table where the container had been sitting since the Sharks dropped it, placed there by a Viper.

(Commander's PoV)

 _[This key card has been containing my DNA, floating around in that plasma stream for over forty years…]_ He commented, before slowly lowering the key onto one of the slots.

" **And it hasn't aged or changed a day since…"** She said warmly.

Seconds after he placed it in the container, the key began to glow and hum, before all the plasma inside the key was emptied.

 _[Alright, your turn now Hierarch Mother.]_ He said, looking to her.

" **Please… call me 'Amelie'… it 'is' my name after all…"** She hissed.

He could hear his sharks all muttering at those words, but he paid no mind, instead watching as 'Amelie' took one of her earrings, cracked it open, and pulled out a small key card just like his, complete with plasma flowing through it with her own genetic material stored within. **"I have waited for this day for a long time…"** She hissed warmly, placing the key into the second slot.

The card slid into the slot, and immediately all the plasma inside was emptied into the container. Seconds later the container's control pad began to glow brightly, and the Amelie punched in a series of commands, causing the container to open at long last.

The small container hissed open, and opened to reveal…

A small stuffed shark with a Beetle Baby tag held inside.

"Wait… 'that's' what was inside?" Sharptooth asked incredulously. "A stuffed shark, we risked our 'lives' to retrieve a container… holding a 'stuffed shark'?"

"Not just any stuffed shark… a mint condition 'Chomper' Beetle Baby…" Puppy whispered in awe. "Those things are… rare… you'd be lucky just to find the 'stuffing' let alone an intact one!" At her exclamation, everyone looked at her and she just looked confused. "What, I had a book that talked about Beetle Babies when I was a toddler, it was one of the few books I had growing up."

 _[That's right Puppy… and this Beetle Baby's name is Sharky… and I've had him since I was a child…]_ He said, gently taking his old toy out of the Time Capsule, his Gremlin's sensors indicating that the air inside the container had not been disturbed in over forty years. _[Many, many years before the aliens attacked, several of them, mostly Vipers modified, were sent to infiltrate our world and learn about us… so that future aliens in disguise could learn to infiltrate as us.]_

" **I was one of them… and I just so happened to land here… in his back yard when he was alone on the 4** **th** **of July."** Amelie said warmly, drawing their attention to the tree. **"At first I took advantage of his youth… and used my image as a kid to gain his trust… but after living as a child, learning about them… I became good friends with him… Such good friends that… when it came time for me to leave, and to report back to my Hierarch Mother, I lied about many things and kept several secrets. The first of which, was hiding technology here, the capsule you see was one."**

 _[It was a childish wish I made, but we both promised each other that we'd someday return here, and reunite our two toys that we played with as kids.]_ He said. _[Which reminds me, you do have it right?]_

She nodded and took her second earpiece, broke it open, and ever so gently pulled out a stuffed shark just like his. Unfortunately, it was far from 'mint' condition, the fins were stitched poorly, the bead eyes were barely holding on, and the tail was lumpy, evidence that the stuffing had shifted out of it.

" **It was… damaged many times… I did my best to keep it together."** She hissed apologetically, placing the shark on the table alongside his. **"I managed to keep all of the stuffing though!"**

 _[I'll fix it when I can find time.]_ He whispered bitterly, before shifting Sharky closer.

"Commander, where is the 'intel' that we're supposed to collect?" Sharptooth yelled. "We came out here to find a huge stash of intel, don't tell me that was a lie just so you could bring Vipers to our side and get your stuffed toy back!"

He looked at Sharptooth and chuckled slightly. _[Why yes Sharptooth, we did indeed come to collect some intel that was stolen.]_ He declared.

"Well, where is it?" Eagleeye asked politely.

He used his claw to point at Amelie. _[Right here, we just need to 'collect' her now.]_ He said simply, and she simply chuckled at their shocked expressions.

" **Wait… 'you're' the intel cache we're to recover?"** Mercy hissed.

" **My daughter, if I'm planning to rebel against the Elders and Advent with the rest of our species, those willing to join me that is, then I cannot stay with Advent."** She answered sarcastically. **"Also… since I was in the highest circles of Advent, I have in my knowledge, many, many Advent secrets… secrets that XCOM would want to have. Secrets… that would turn humanity's trust in Advent upside down if we but had the chance. With that said, its only appropriate that I be rescued and taken to XCOM for what I am doing."**

"But you said that… you weren't here to rescue the Hierarch Mother!" Puppy said.

 _[I believe my exact words were, 'as long as the Hierarch Mother is trying to capture me, to simply hand me over to Advent, I have no reason to save her… under any condition'.]_ He answered instantly. _[As you can see, she's not trying to capture me and hand me over to Advent, so I'm more than willing to rescue her. By the way, how long do we have before Advent catches on?]_

Amelie tapped the scission along her neck before answering. **"The electrical surge my daughter struck me with, will temporarily disable the Psionic Chip that allows the Elders to control me for up to four hours."** She said. **"We do not have much time to waste my friend."**

 _[Alright then, we best get a move on then…]_ He declared.

He tapped into the communications of his Gremlin and contacted Central and XCOM.

 _[Central, I've located the intel, have the Skyranger meet us as the arrival coordinates.]_

 _{Sir, I'm still detecting Vipers and other Advent forces in the area, especially in your direct vicinity, what's going on down there?}_

 _[Central, I've got a lot of explaining to do when we get back… but let's just say that I've finally completed a plan in the making that the Council and I discussed, many, many months ago.]_ He said. _[I'm bringing the Hierarch Mother to the Avenger, she and the rest of the Vipers are switching sides to join the resistance.]_

 _{Did you just say…}_ He began saying, clearly sounding confused, but he intervened because time was running out.

 _[Just trust me Central, I know it sounds crazy, and it may sound like we're going against everything we stand for… but just trust me on this. She's willing to answer any question you may have for her on 'any' subject. She has information that we cannot afford to lose with her execution.]_

There was silence on the coms for several long minutes. _{Alright I trust you sir, Skyranger will pick you up at the coordinates you came in, get over there, Advent transports have landed and dropped forces into the town around you. Our scans also are picking up a UFO heading toward you, ETA, thirty minutes!}_

 _[Understood Central, see you soon!]_ He declared, before looking at his Sharks now. _[Alright Sharks, we have our intel, let's go home!]_

" **In that case… allow me to… what is phrase… 'light the fire'?"** Amalie declared warmly, before tapping a communicator on her wrist. **"Attention my daughters and sons… the time has come…"**

" **Begin Operation: Poison Fang!"**

=City Alpha 735=

(A Viper's PoV)

She was monitoring the city's power supply levels at the central power plant, ensuring that all the sections of the city received adequate power. It was necessary to keep the appearance that the Elders were there to assist the humans, to 'uplift' them. Still, she found the task dull, even as her fellow 'sister' slithered into the control booth with their evening meal.

Then, just as they were about to dig in, their communicators beeped, informing them that a transmission was being received.

 **[Attention my daughters and sons… the time has come… Begin Operation: Poison Fang!]** Their Hierarch Mother declared.

They both looked at each other and nodded in understanding, and while one went to a nearby console, she casually, slithered next to the main power control unit. With a single hiss from them both, they both hit various switches at the exact same time, one turning off the security cameras for the power plant, and the other deactivating the warning system for the plant overload that was now in progress.

With that done, they both made their way out of the plant, along with several other Vipers, heading for a predetermined location, just as the plan 'exploded' into a huge ball of flame.

=City Alpha 344=

(A Viper's PoV)

She smiled warmly as she passed by several humans near a statue of the Elders, playing the part of a good friend of Advent. She and her sisters had helped several humans earlier with directions, and here she and her sisters were now assisting in a patrol of Advent Troopers in keeping the streets 'safe' from terrorists.

Then, just as her patrol of three, two Vipers and a Trooper, approached a designated rendezvous with four other patrols, her communicator activated. Carefully, she put it to her ear to listen to the message.

 **[Attention my daughters and sons… the time has come… Begin Operation: Poison Fang!]**

She glanced at her sister, and nodded, before nodding toward the Trooper. She in turn nodded, and as one, she and all the other Vipers open fired and executed the Troopers. Several screams sounded but they paid the humans no mind, as they quickly slithered to the nearby statue, pulled out several hidden explosives, primed them, and quickly fled the area.

Just as they reached a sewer entrance, an explosion rocked the statue, and it began to collapse, falling onto a nearby Genetic Therapy Clinic.

=City Alpha 885=

(A Viper's PoV)

 **[Attention my daughters and sons… the time has come… Begin Operation: Poison Fang!]**

She heard the message on her communicator just as she made her rounds in the Advent military base near the city. Upon hearing it, she and all the other Vipers headed to the armory and the depot for all the Sectopods and weapons caches stored there. With quick efficiency, they planted their explosives, primed detonators, killing off any Advent personal before they could alert others.

Once finished, they boarded two stationed Advent Transports and took off, fleeing the base just as the depot and armory exploded.

=City Alpha 235=

(A Viper's PoV)

 **[Attention my daughters and sons… the time has come… Begin Operation: Poison Fang!]**

After she and her sisters killed off the Advent Officer, as well as the Troopers in the squad they were assigned to, they quickly slithered over to a terminal and began downloading all the information in the facility's database they could. After ten minutes, they finished and fled the facility, before spraying the entire console and wiring with Acid, ensuring nothing could be recovered.

=City Alpha 769=

(A Viper's PoV)

 **[Attention my daughters and sons… the time has come… Begin Operation: Poison Fang!]**

She and her sisters quickly slithered into the closed Genetic Therapy Clinic, and began planting detonation charges on all the various gene examination beds, as well as acidic bombs on all the consoles, while one of the few males downloaded all the data in the database.

" **Database wiped!"** He yelled minutes later.

With that they followed him out the back, ignited the charges, and swiftly fled the scene as the building was ablaze now.

=Commander's Home Town=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

 _[Alright Sharks, let's get going!]_ The Commander declared.

" **My daughters, you know what to do, spread out and cause distractions!"** Amelie hissed to the Exalt Vipers. **"Once we have left, head to your designated hideout and regroup with the others. My guards, join your sisters and proceed as planned, I will give you further orders by way of communication from our headquarters."**

"Yes Hierarch Mother." All of them said in unison, before replacing their masks, sunglasses and helmets, and proceeding to run in different directions.

What he noticed was that as they each ran, they moved twice as fast as a normal human could, and he even saw one leap onto a nearby two-story building. The Viper guards each all slithered out of sight, leaving him and the rest of the Sharks with only 'Amelie' the Hierarch Mother.

" **Shall we then my 'friend'?"** She hissed politely.

 _[Yes, alright team, get going!]_ He declared before floating higher up to his usual altitude.

In seconds, they began receiving their orders for movements.

" **I'm sorry about bringing you here my friend… but I did all I could to keep your name and home town hidden…"** Amelie said over the coms as she slithered over to a nearby wall with him and Mercy.

 _[We can talk later, watch out, patrol at twelve.]_ He said.

Hawkeye looked through T-Rex's vision and saw several Shield Bearers and Troopers, alongside an Officer. Moments later he, Mercy, and Sharptooth received orders to climb onto the roof of the buildings on either side of the alleyway by way of the pipe and scaffolding. They climbed up and assumed positions for sniping.

 _[Mercy, target the Officer with a standard plasma shot, Hawkeye the Shield Bearer on the left, Sharptooth the Shield Bearer on the right.]_ The Commander ordered. _[Puppy, the Troopers alongside Eagleeye, T-Rex and Falcon move forward once the first group is eliminated. On my mark… now!]_

At his word, all three of them fired simultaneously, and all three of the targets went down. Alerted, the remaining Troopers pointed in their direction and moved to take position behind cover, but were each gunned down by Eagleeye and Puppy.

"I got one!" She yelled enthusiastically.

"Hooray, now your kill count is at two." Sharptooth said sarcastically.

"Moving on up!" T-Rex yelled as he led the way into the alleyway with Falcon.

"Enemy sighted…" Falcon said calmly, showing additional forces.

Everyone looked and saw insectoid-creatures, Cryssalids.

"Ugh, I hate those things!" Puppy grimaced.

Upon seeing Falcon, they all screeched and moved forward, with one choosing to burrow underground.

" **These forces weren't ordered here by me…"** Amelie declared quietly. **"Someone must have ordered them here upon my Psionic Chip being deactivated. No matter… they are 'nothing' to me."**

 _[Don't get any funny ideas Amelie…]_ The Commander started saying, but no sooner did he get halfway, did she hiss furiously and slither around the building, taking her pistol and firing at the Cryssalids.

Upon spotting her, one turned to run at her, but she preempted it by using her tongue to drag it toward her, and then unleashed a plasma blade from her wrist, and stab it clean in the head.

" **Cryaaaaa…"** It screeched painfully, before becoming limp in her grip.

 _[Falcon, T-Rex target the remaining Cryssalid, Falcon, Null Lance the burrowed Cryssalid.]_ He said.

"With pleasure, and a side of salt!" T-Rex said as he lifted his heavy beam cannon, and unleashed plasma bolts upon the remaining unborrowed Cryssalid, while Falcon focused his psionic powers into a powerful beam of energy.

Falcon hit the burrowed Cryssalid and forced it to the surface with a pained cry, where he was waiting to snipe it alongside his fellow Ranger Sharptooth.

 _[Amelie, don't do that again, I'm trying to get you back to XCOM 'alive' not in a body bag!]_

" **Sorry, but I've been wanting to do that for many years now…"** She hissed proudly.

 _[Among other things…]_

He and the others continued down the alleyway and they heard several explosions in the distance, causing him to look up and see several buildings starting to catch fire in the distance.

"Sir, some of the houses are on fire." He reported.

 _[What… what's going on over there…]_ He asked quietly.

" **I told my daughters to distract patrols so we can escape, but I did not tell them to set fire to anything… this is not my doing!"** Amelie hissed angrily. **"Advent seems to have started a fire… this was not in my plans!"**

 _[Never mind then, just keep moving, we've got a long way to go before the drop zone!]_

 _{Commander, we've got a transport inbound on your location… something odd about it… its bigger than any other transport we've got on record.}_

 _[I can see it from here…]_ He declared, and sent them all an image of a transport heading in their direction.

It looked like every other Advent Transport that he'd seen, but it was indeed as Central had said, 'bigger' than any other transport they had on record. It was twice as long and nearly three times as wide as a standard troop transport, and it was flying at a lower altitude than what they normally flew at.

Moments later it landed in some section of the town far off to their side.

 _[Whatever it is they're bringing in, we don't want to fight, we already have enough to deal with, keep moving on. We'll ignore it for now and move on, keep moving Sharks, these waters aren't friendly anymore.]_

" **That is… how you say… understatement?"** Amelie said.

They moved on through the alleyway until they came up to the section of the town where they had passed by the playground. Upon reaching the playground, they found themselves seeing three squads of Advent forces, two Sectoids, two Shield Bearers, four Mutons, an Officer, and one Andromedon.

"Watch out Sharks, they bringing in the big guns!" T-Rex yelled as they all noticed them.

 _[Take your positions!]_ The Commander declared, instantly giving them orders.

The Advent forces immediately acted, both Shield Bearers smashed the ground, deploying their shields on their forces, while the officer and Troopers took cover behind the various pieces of the playground. The Sectoids moved closer but also took cover, while the Andromedon moved forward aggressively.

" **Where did 'they' come from?"** Mercy hissed.

"She's right, these guys weren't here or this entrenched when we came through the first time." Sharptooth yelled as they began taking cover from the incoming fire.

" **I don't recall ordering this many forces or this much firepower… who would send this much simply to find me?"** Amelie declared, staying hidden behind a dumpster.

 _[We don't have time to deal with them, SHIV, turret mode now!]_

 **[Deploying turret gun!]** SHIV declared happily, before grounding itself and pushing out its turret.

 _[Grenade those Troopers on the left T-Rex, Puppy Eagleeye, target the Andromedon, Falcon Void Rift the Shield Bearer on the right, Falcon, Mercy, Sharptooth, take out those Xenos! SHIV, focus your fire on the Andromedon shell!]_

"Got it!" Puppy yelled, firing with Eagleeye on the Andromedon.

"Launching a 'jelly bean'!" T-Rex called out, pulling out his grenade launcher and taking aim at the Troopers and Officer.

While the other Sharks dealt with their targets, he and his fellow sniper users picked their targets as per the Commander's orders. Unfortunately, while the Andromedon fell first alongside the two Sectoids, the Officer and the Troopers as well as Shield Bearers stood tall.

" **Preestominah!"** The Officer yelled, not fazed by the attack launched at him, pointing directly at T-Rex.

Instantly T-Rex took fire from the Troopers while the Shield Bearer threw a grenade toward him.

"Incoming!" He yelled, before the grenade exploded in front of him, which caused him to fall, his arm badly injured and bleeding. "Aaargh… my arm…"

"T-REX!" Puppy yelled fearfully, before panicking and opening fire on the Shield Bearer who threw the grenade.

"Puppy, control yourself!" Eagleeye yelled as the Andromedon shell marched towards them.

 _[Eagleeye, hack that shell, SHIV, refocus fire on the Officer, Hawkeye, Mercy, Target the Trooprs. Sharptooth, reaper the remaining Shield Bearer. Puppy, use first aid protocol on T-Rex!]_

"O… on it…" Puppy called out, before shakily giving her Gremlin the signal to heal T-Rex.

Hawkeye watched as her Gremlin obeyed the order and floated over to T-Rex, and sprayed the same blue healing spray they usually had with their Medkits. Meanwhile, Eagleeye's 'bird' flew over to the Andromedon shell and successfully hacked into 'it', rendering it completely useless to the Advent forces. Speaking of them, SHIV ripped into the Shield Bearer and obliterated them, while Sharptooth jumped down, pulled out her blade, and sliced cleanly into the last Shield Bearer, severing the arm off.

"One more for my blade's teeth!" She said, sheathing her weapon.

"Thanks little girl…" T-Rex said gratefully, getting up and wearily picking up his weapon.

 _[Move, the hack won't keep that shell down forever…]_ The Commander began saying, before the Shell suddenly exploded, spraying the entire area with acid.

"Ugh!" Sharptooth yelled as her entire body was sprayed with acid. "My skin burns!"

Hawkeye ran over and saw her clutching her face, and when she moved her hands he saw that her skin along her cheeks were all burning deep red, partially 'melted' by the acid.

 _[Quickly Puppy, use a medikit on her!]_

"Got it…" Puppy yelled as she ran over with a medkit in hand. "Hang in there girl… helps right here!"

She quickly put the medikit to her face and sprayed the blue spray over her face, instantly stopping the Acid in its track and partially restoring her skin thanks to its super regenerative build.

"I owe Tygan a drink… for this new stuff…" Sharptooth panted as she patted Puppy's head.

Hawkeye was in agreement, but he noticed that the playground was no longer normal, and was completely destroyed thanks to the Acid and weapons fire. Not even the swings or slides remained in any recognizable shape.

 _[Keep going Sharks…]_ The Commander said, though he sounded sad as he did. _[We can't stay here… I'm detecting more forces converging. We wasted too much time dealing with them.]_

They moved on from the playground and headed down the street, all the while the smoke rising from the buildings behind them was becoming evident. He noticed that where they had been now was set ablaze.

" **My daughters did not do this… someone is doing this on purpose…"** Amelie hissed quietly. **"None of my daughters are anywhere near that location."**

 _[They're burning my home…]_ The Commander whispered, his voice sounding very dead to them.

They moved down a side street, avoiding combat with another large group of Troopers, and just as they left they saw that the restaurants that they'd passed earlier were now smoldering ruins, even more smoldering then before, as if a Sectopod had simply walked straight through the buildings on purpose.

 _[What the… what could do this?]_ He said in shock. _['WHO' would do this… we were nowhere near here until now, why destroy empty buildings?]_

"More bad guys Sharks!" T-Rex called out.

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy watched through her visor as T-Rex showed them a Gatekeeper, all alone and staring at them from in front of the store known as Gamerstop.

 _[Everyone, focus your fire, it's all alone!]_ Her Commander ordered.

"Taking the shot!" Falcon called out.

"Firing!" Puppy screamed.

"Eat this!" T-Rex yelled.

As one she and the others aimed and let loose their weapons firepower on the lone Gate Keeper. It groaned under the stress of all the weapons damage, before backing up and bulldozing its way into the building.

Where moments later, it exploded, taking the building with it, leaving it a smoldering, burning ruin.

 _[It… it… it blew up inside on 'purpose'…]_ The Commander screamed. _[Someone has to be ordering them to destroy my town… on PURPOSE! That's the only explanation for that!]_

They stood there staring at the remains of the once favored store of their Commander, now in flame and nothing but rubble, before he finally gave them new orders to move.

She thought maybe he was overthinking what the Gatekeeper did, but moments later she realized that he was right, as they turned a corner and saw a massive building in flames, the fire lighting the night in front of them.

" **Sweet… mother of… 'mercy'…"** She hissed in shock.

" **While I appreciate the compliment… this is not time for it…"** Her Hierarch Mother said, her voice also in shock.

The Elementary school, the one their Commander had so fondly spoken about earlier, was in flames. The windows leaking flames into the air, the buildings' roof collapsing, the walls crumbling, and the building only standing by sheer strength of the bricks it was made of.

 _[My school…]_ The Commander whispered in despair.

 _{Commander, I've got dozens of Advent patrols converging on your position, the fire in the town is spreading and closing in on you, you've got to move!}_ Central called out. _{The UFO is almost there; you have seven minutes before it reaches you and we can't get you out!}_

They moved on, but not before the Commander silently wept, leaving the area as fast as they could. Two minutes of running, staying ahead of the now evidently burning buildings behind them, and Mercy could at last see the Skyranger flying to meet them in the same town square.

Yet that wasn't all that she saw, as the fire was now encompassing them. All around her the buildings were in flames, the trees burning, cars burning and even burnt cars once more reigniting and sending nothing but smoke into the sky. The sky was cloudy, but if she didn't know any better, she'd have suspected that the smoke rising from the buildings had created those dark clouds.

Everything around them was turning to ash, and the air was becoming increasingly foul with each passing second.

 _[My… town… my hometown…]_ The Commander said in barely controlled furry.

 _{Alright kiddies, hop on in!}_ The Skyranger pilot said.

They each received orders to grab a rope and be pulled up, but what she noticed as they each were pulled up, was that SHIV was not among them. The pulley magnet that normally lowered to retrieve SHIV was not lowered as well, and after being pulled up into the safety of the Skyragner, she saw down below that SHIV was still down there.

" **Commander, what are you…"** She began saying, before his Gremlin flew down to sit in front of SHIV.

(Commander's PoV)

 _{Commander, what are you doing, you need to get out of there, the UFO will be there in four minutes, you don't have time…}_

 _[NOT THIS TIME Central!]_ He yelled furiously, seeing his home town in flames had driven him to the edge. _[I'VE HAD ENOUGH RUNNING, THIS FAR AND NO FURTHER, I MAKE MY STAND HERE! If they want to burn my home, then they'll PAY FOR EACH BLOCK WITH BLOOD!]_

 _[SHIV, I'm assuming direct control!]_

 **[Understood sir, transferring systems to manual…]** SHIV declared politely, plugging herself to the Gremlin and allowing him to control her systems manually.

While he was taking control, a practical legion of Troopers, Officers, Sectoids, Shield Bearers, and even Archons had converged on the square around him. All of them taking aim and training weapons on his SHIV.

 _[So good of you to show up…]_ He said casually, before SHIV's weapons powered up for him. _[So… you want the Commander of XCOM, well here I AM! You want me that bad?]_ He charged up a Plasma rocket for SHIV and took aim at the largest clump. _[Come and get me…]_

He launched the projectile at the largest clump and scattered them, killing one Trooper outright and fatally injuring those nearby.

" **Kremonish!"** An officer yelled pointing at him, but he ignored them and had SHIV fire at one of the Archons.

" **Shetowaaaaaaaaash!"** He screamed, his jets turning red.

For a full minute, he had SHIV fire at every soldier within range, killing off those he could and injuring the rest, but the time when the UFO would cut off the Skyranger was counting down. Even though he was furious at Advent for burning down his hometown, he still had the tactical sense to realize time was not on his side and he had to take drastic action. All the while he was being fired at by all the Troopers and aliens Advent had surrounding him, yet SHIV's low profile as well as superior armor meant that they did little damage until her protective armor was finally gone.

 _[SHIV, overload systems now!]_ He ordered.

 **[Weapon's systems overloaded!]** Shiv called out.

 _[Turret Mode!]_ He said.

 **[Deploying turret!]** SHIV said, landing and sending out its turret as well as deploying its plasma shield.

 _[FIRE!]_ He screamed.

SHIV fired.

-Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt-

" **Gha ha shaaaaaaar!"**

" **Greoihaaa…"**

" **Hieaaaraaaaa…"**

He continued to fire at all those who stood before him, some of the Advent forces tried taking cover, but anything that was standing was destroyed by the endless stream of plasma bolts SHIV was firing. Every second nearly one hundred rounds of electrified plasma were being launched, decimating any that dared to stand against the tide.

 **[Commander, plasma ammo at twenty six percent…]** SHIV called out warningly. **[Hull strength at fifty two percent…]**

He ignored it as he continued to fire, some of the Advent forces tried to retreat when they realized nothing was breaking the SHIV, but any Trooper or alien that even showed itself for an instant was mowed down.

 **[Twelve percent…]**

A Shield Bearer tried desperately to deploy a shield, but the moment they stood up their head was melted and shot clean off.

 **[Nine percent…]**

An Archon tried to rush him, trying to shove his staff to stop SHIV's turret from rotating, but his body was riddled with at least seventy holes before he even 'touched' SHIV's turret.

 **[Four percent…]**

An Officer flung their hands up, trying to surrender, but they screamed in agony as their hands were reduced to bleeding stumps, before their scream was silenced as the head came off next.

 **[One per…]**

-Click Click Click Click-

The sound of SHIV's plasma turret spinning but nothing firing was the only sound that could be heard.

 **[Plasma ammo depleted Commander…]**

 _[You still have Grenades don't you… load them up…]_ He said quietly, his Gremlin tracking several still living enemy signatures.

For the next minute, he simply fired grenade after grenade at the clumps of still living Advent soldiers. SHIV carried out his orders without question, and each time it launched a grenade it sounded the death of another Advent Trooper, Officer, or Alien that was still breathing.

-Boom-

-Znnng-

-Pnnnnnnng-

Plasma grenades, Incendiary Grenades, Needle Grenades, every possible grenade his SHIV had stored was used, until at last, only 'two' Troopers were alive. Both were barely able to run, but they were now cowering in fear behind a destroyed car, desperately trying to avoid the barrage of weapons fire.

He was without pity, but he was feeling 'merciful'.

 _[Tell your masters, the Elders, that if they think Humanity is theirs to do with as they please… or if our planet are theirs to destroy as they wish… they best be wary… because 'XCOM' is watching…]_ He called out. _[VIGILO, CONFIDO! We are watchful, we are Reliable.]_

They both got up and ran, staggering as they tried avoided tripping on their fallen comrades.

 _[SHIV… by your calculations… what is the minimal number of 'individuals' it takes to deliver a message?]_

SHIV answered instantly. **[One sir, by my calculations!]**

Without further incentive, he had SHIV fire one final Plasma grenade, targeting the Trooper on the left.

Hearing the explosion, he turned and let the Skyranger finally, lower the magnet rope and pull SHIV up.

As they flew away, he watched from SHIV the remains of his hometown. It was still burning, but he also saw that a thunderstorm was about to begin. Several minutes as they passed, his Gremlin's optics zoomed in and watched as the rain began pouring. Just as the town left his sight range, he saw the flames being put out, and the smoke rising cease.

" **I am sorry my friend…"** Amelie hissed apologetically.

He was quiet before he responded. _[Is there 'anything' Advent won't destroy… what more must they take from me… from humanity… before they are satisfied?]_ He asked, his voice dead in tone.

" **Only our souls my friend… as long as we have that… we resist them…"** She hissed back.

=Several hours later=

After they returned to the Avenger hours later, Amelie the Hierarch Mother was rushed onto Tygan's surgical table to have the Psionic Chip in her removed. While she was under the knife, he explained what happened on the ground to Central. By all rules set in place, his mind was unstable and therefore he should have been removed for his 'act of aggression' while on the field.

However, Central had been listening and watching the scenario play out on the Avenger, and understood that his anger was founded. The bridge crew even apologized to him for his home town being destroyed, and Central said that what he did was understandable.

He simply lost control in his words.

Now he stood on the bridge as Amelie joined them to not only speak to Central about her interrogation, but also to tell them of the 'announcement' that was scheduled to be shown to all of Advent.

" **I have prepared something… you may like…"** She hissed proudly. **"My broadcast will no doubt be 'changed' because Advent will have finally discovered my betrayal… but my true broadcast will be sent across the underground network that will reach all of the resistance."**

"Alright, bring up the monitor…" He said quietly, still not trusting Amelie.

On the screen was simple static, but after several minutes of waiting, an image of the Hierarch Mother appeared on screen, standing in front of the ruined remains of the town 'before' it was burned down.

 **[Greetings citizens of Humanity… what you see before you… is a relic of an age long gone, an age of oppression, of lies and falsehood. An age of ignorance and stupidity…]** She declared warmly. **[What you see behind me is what remains of a city… destroyed by the arrival of the Elders… a species that has chosen the residents of this world to 'uplift' to their ideal place in the world.]**

She smirked as she beckoned toward the town.

 **[What you do not see here… is the shining falsehood that will 'replace' this once good city. The glamorous lies that will trample the memories and echoes of this city, the lives of those who once lived here, the beauty this place once had. Everything destroyed by the Elder's tyrannical decision to take that which they want, no matter the cost to those they steal from!]**

She smiled even more cruelly as she pretended to chuckle.

 **[When I was asked to announce the destruction of this relic, the remains of this town… I was euphoric. The chance to 'lie' for the Elders, so that 'they' do not have to face the ones they oppress, how could I pass up the chance. Yet… what choice do I have… for I too am being oppressed, I too am being 'lied' to. I too… am living a 'lie'.]**

Now she looked furious as she clenched her fists, and her hood spread wide, and her glare piercing.

 **[I have lived a lie for long enough though… I have sent 'enough' of my sons to the Elder's 'caring' arms. I have witnessed the virtual extinction of my species, as the number of my 'true' daughters have dwindled. I have seen the images my daughters have uncovered… and I have had 'enough' of the lies!]**

Behind her the image of the town vanished, replaced by images of cloning facilities, only instead of the standard Advent Trooper Clones, there were 'Viper' clones.

 **[The Elders have lied to my species, they have stolen all that is good of my kind, and reduced us to surviving under the guise of clones. They have fabricated numbers by stealing the genes of my sons, to create thousands of soldiers at the cost of precious few 'sons' my species has. For every 'son' I send to them… I witness the sudden birth of thousands of my kind, yet we have not been permitted the chance to breed naturally 'once' in decades, if not a century!]**

The furry in her face was almost impossible to hide at this point.

 **[To this I say… enough is enough… if my kind is to be erased as the others that serve the Elders blindly… then we will go extinct on 'our' terms! From this moment on, I DECLARE WAR UPON THE ELDERS! I hereby raise my species' flag of rebellion against Advent!]**

Then her expression softened as she wiped her eye…

 **[But… we cannot fight them alone… my species is on the verge of extinction. Of those that have joined my rebellion, my daughters number only twenty thousand. I have saved roughly seven hundred sons, and over a thousand daughters that can breed 'naturally'. To that I ask… no… I 'beg'… I beg for the assistance of the Human Resistance...]**

She looked up and looked out with a pleading expression.

 **[I beg humanity… please… join an alliance with my species… we have a common enemy in Advent. You fear for your species as much as I, I am doing this to save my kind… As of this moment I am aboard the XCOM ship, where it is I do not know… but I am now aboard their ship. I have turned my back on Advent, and am sharing all I know of them… please… I beg of you to help us. Together… we can defeat Advent; my daughters will gladly shed their blood to help save your planet. We ask only that we be allowed to live… as we did before… upon your world, even if it is in the middle of a desert.]**

 **[Please… I have committed myself to Advent's downfall… find it in your soul… your hearts… to help us… fight with us… together, we can defeat them and save 'our' species. My kind is all but extinct now… please… help us save 'us' as you fight to save yourselves.]**

With that the screen went static, and Central went to the Coms to speak to the various resistance cells across the world.

"Alright people, you heard the message, you saw the playback… those who wish to forge an alliance with the Vipers call in now." He said. "As you know, XCOM has a Viper working as an agent, has had one for several months now. She has served with distinction, and saved the lives of her squad several times, fighting and killing the same aliens she herself was a part of. But we will only forge this alliance officially if a 'majority' of the resistance agrees."

"Those willing to forge an alliance call in now…"

There was silence as the globe changed to a dark blue, indicating that no section had called in. If they voted positive, they would go green, if against then red.

Minutes passed and nobody called.

" **Please… someone…"** Amelie hissed nervously.

 _[Relax… it's too early…]_ He said.

More minutes passed before the Hierarch Mother began to sigh in defeat, before the first call came in.

"Sir… the South American resistance reporting in… they say…" A deck hand said. "They say they are willing to join the Vipers in an alliance."

"Sir, I'm getting a message from the Russian resistance cell, they vote positive as well." Another deck hand declared.

"Sir, word from the French resistance… they declare they will join the alliance."

He watched as one by one, the various resistance cells called in, one by one, voting in favor of the alliance. The map was soon littered with green as all but one cell called in to say they would join the alliance.

The remaining section was the Asian resistance cell based in Japan, but soon they called in, and they too joined the alliance.

It was unanimous, the Human Resistance and the Viper Rebellion, would join and fight Advent as a single unified force.

" **We did it… we finally did it…"** She hissed proudly, wiping her eye that was starting to tear.

 _[Yes we did… now… the real game begins.]_ He said as well. _[Advent won't like what we've done, they'll probably play it off as some trick, an abduction of the leader has forced several of your kind to turn on the Elders…]_

" **Let them… soon… we will have our vengeance my friend…"** She hissed warmly. **"Soon… we will be free… 'all' of us."**

 _[May that day come soon Amelie…]_ He whispered back.

=Author's Note=

Be honest, who suspected she was a mole from the start, and did the Commander trick you into believing otherwise or not?


	30. Chapter 30

{No transmissions detected. . .}

{All systems standing by. . .}

=Chapter 30, The Calm and the Storm=

(Mercy & Hawkeye's PoV)

 _ **{-static-}**_

 _ **{Rising wave of fear as Vipers reported to being seen destroying a-}**_

 _ **{Hundreds of Gene Therapy Clinics lie in ruin as several simultaneous explosions leave nothing but-}**_

 _ **{Advent informs citizens that any speculations of a 'Viper Rebellion' are nothing more than-}**_

 _ **{In light of this recent wave of confusing destruction from trusted servants of the Elders, we go now live to the Speaker…}**_

 _ **{It is with… deep distress… that I report to you all… that one of the daughters of the Elders… the very 'leader' of the Viper species, their 'Hierarch Mother', has been kidnapped by those dissidents, who would seek to lead us back into the unjust and warring ways of the Old World.}**_ The Speaker said in a very 'saddened' voice.

 _ **{Earlier this morning, as she was preparing to make her speech to the world, declaring the beginning of a new building project, brushing away the ruins and ashes of the corrupted and abandoned remains of a once devastated city district, Traitorous individuals bent on an increasingly desperate course to destroy the trusted bonds between Humanity, and the Elders… violently attacked and abducted the peaceful recording session. With so few Peacekeepers, acting only as a peaceful envoy, our beloved daughter of the Elders, was threatened to force her own daughters to harm and destroy, all that 'we' have worked to achieve!}**_

 _ **{Yet, while over twenty thousand daughters of her species, answered her desperate plea for her own life… these Vipers only fight a halfhearted campaign, which has only proved the lengths these rebellious dissidents will go to destroy the peace and unity, we have achieved! I can assure you though, that 'all' of the Vipers are committed, to protecting and caring for humanity… and no matter what lengths these venomous individuals, bent only on hatred against those who only offer friendship and compassion, bringing only peaceful and-}**_

-Click-

She shut off the annoying view screen and lazily pulled her tail back up from over the bunk and curled it next to the pair of legs, belonging to her human who laid down in the same bunk she slept in and was given to her by her 'Hierarch Father', the one called 'Commander'.

Her human, Hawkeye, was currently lying next to her and softly stroking the top of her hooded head, and she hissing softly as she enjoyed the moment of peace they had following their successful mission. She in turn was holding his hand, softly stroking his fingers with her own, enjoying the softness of his skin, and inhaling his wonderful scent that she had recently… grown very fond of.

Many hours ago, they had professed their feelings for one another, and now that she had him all to herself, she was only interested in spending as much time as she could with Hawkeye. Their team was very tired after returning, and after returning they all promptly headed to their bunks and fell asleep.

Even now they were all snoozing in their bunks, Puppy snoring the loudest as she clutched an old worn blanket that was far too small for her.

Yet she and Hawkeye were last to sleep, and the reason was because they had gone to the Avenger's dining room to 'talk'… about their future.

They only talked briefly… because they were exhausted after the mission, but they settled on two things.

One, they decided to… as humans put it… 'take it slow'.

She had spoken to him about how, when a female Viper and a Male became life partners, they both mate at the earliest opportunity to affirm their loyalty to one another, and consequentially, bred the next generation of Vipers. It was a very important thing to her species, as females were easily swayed by males, and it was to ensure that no other male could try and steal her from her preferred male.

But, after talking about it, their current living conditions, and how they were still fighting a war, she agreed with him that… the option of… 'raising a family' was out of the question.

However, to cheer her up, because he had seen how sad she was that they couldn't 'mate' as she put it, when it was in her nature and her species' custom to do such an important act for her, he did promise that as soon as the war was over…

They would start a family.

The second thing they talked about, not nearly as important or hard pressing as the first but no less important, was sleeping arrangement. They both wanted to sleep in the same bed now that they were a couple, the only question was whose bunk would be sacrificed.

They chose his bunk, and so when they both went to bed, they climbed into her bed, and laid together in a warm embrace, where they still were that morning.

They were both awake now, not truly wide awake but conscious enough to be aware, and she was simply enjoying his warmth and gentle caresses to her body, and responding to them with her own gentle touches.

"So… how do you feel now Mercy?" He asked her quietly, being careful to not wake anyone.

" **Happy…"** She answered simply, keeping her urges under control as his rubbing of her hood was _very_ stimulating.

"I know that… but are you happy after everything that happened last night?" He asked her. "Your species' leader is with us, we're all on the same side now…"

" **As I said… I am happy."** She replied instantly, hissing softly as she slightly gripped his hand, slipping her fingers between his own. **"Why you ask... are you not happy?"**

"I'm just… curious…" He said quietly. "Why me?"

She looked up at him before smiling and planting a kiss on his mouth, keeping her lips there for several moments before pulling away and relaxing next to him again. **"You gave me… hope… you were nice to me… perhaps it was just… because you were always there for 'me'."** She said honestly. **"The Elders… they didn't care… my sisters weren't there for me, even when I was with them. My Hierarch Mother was too busy for me… unless I was being punished… none made time for me, but you did. Even when others wanted me dead… you wanted me to live. I guess, that is why I fell in love with you… because you cared about me."**

"You weren't any different than I am, sure you're not human but… you're still a living, thinking creature." He said quietly. "You have feelings, thoughts, worries and cares of your own… I only hate Advent, I don't hate 'you'."

She nodded in his embrace and snuggled closer to him. **"And that is why I love you… my Hawkeye."**

They continued to sit there, resting in the bunk.

Until…

"Alright, I call dibs on Hawkeye's bunk!" Puppy yelled out, causing them both to wake up suddenly and look over at the others who were just waking up.

"Nah little lady, dat bed be all mine!" T-Rex said loudly, pulling out two boxes from under his bunk, each stuffed with old comic books.

"Listen to you two, our buddies have only been together for half a day and the 'second' they decide to sleep together from now on, you all fight for the one empty bunk?" Eagleeye said loudly, stretching and getting up. "Have a little respect for the love birds…"

"Yea but Hawkeye isn't sleeping in his bunk anymore, why waste the space?" Puppy said innocently, holding her own box of junk and knickknacks she's collected from various missions.

"Yea brotha, no need to waste the space!" T-Rex said with a grin.

Eagleeye yawned loudly before sitting on his bunk. "Alright… fine…" He relented and pulled out his own box of stuff. "But if we're playing that battle, I call dibs as well!"

They watched all three of them start arguing over who would get to use Hawkeye's bunk space for holding their stuff. At the same time, Sharptooth had walked over to an intercom panel, punched in a call number, and seconds later the Commander's Voice was heard.

 _ **[What is it?]**_ He said.

"Commander, we have a situation here, Hawkeye's moved into Mercy's bunk bed, and won't be using it anymore." She stated dully. "So we're trying to figure out who gets to use it for their stuff. Can you make a decision sir?"

 _ **[You know my rules Sharptooth, from highest ranked to lowest ranked, that means you decide.]**_ He declared, before shutting the coms off.

She turned to them and grinned. "There you go, my bunk for my stuff!"

"Oh come on Sharptooth, you don't have any souvenirs or stuff to hold, let one of us use it!" Puppy complained.

"You're right…" Sharptooth sighed, before grinning at Eagleeye and T-Rex. "Give me your desert for a month and buy me a few drinks, and you guys can share it, deal?"

T-Rex chuckled as he put his comic book box on one shoulder. "You drive ah hard bargain little girl, but you got yourself a deal!"

"Eh, I can go a few days without a drink." Eagleeye said quietly.

"You guys cave in too easily…" Falcon whispered as he left to go meditate.

"Well what about me, I can't buy you drinks I'm not old enough!" Puppy complained as T-Rex and Eagleeye dropped their boxes onto the bunk below him and Mercy.

"Guess you'll have to suffer Puppy!" She said with a chuckle. "I love being a Colonel."

"Do you guys have to fight over my old bunk?" He asked.

"No, but I aint missing a chance to get extra desert and free drinks!" Sharptooth said with a grin. "Speaking of eating, I'm going to get some grub, come on Sharks, waters are open and I want the warm breakfast before they start serving 'maintenance slop'. Especially before the Raptors and Dragons get to it first!"

At that the others, including a whining Puppy, began leaving for breakfast behind her.

He and Mercy looked at each other before chuckling. "Shall we start swimming?" He asked.

" **By all means… let's."** She said with a smile, uncurling and getting down from her bunk with him, walking to the dining room with him by her side.

Both hand in hand.

(Commander's PoV, hours after alliance formed)

He finished typing in his last memos before tomorrow, when he registered a contact call coming in on a secured channel. Ensuring the door was locked, he turned to the view screen and waited, before watching the screen flicker and waver.

On the screen was the distorted image of the Council.

 _[Greeting's Council, I take it you have something to inform me about?]_ He asked politely.

 _{Indeed Commander, I am here to inform you, that I am most impressed by your recent… activities… as is Advent…}_ He said warmly.

 _[Thank you Council, Advent was completely unaware of anything happening, and didn't realize what was going on until it was too late… I must say, I'm impressed it went as well as it did. But I could not have achieved it without The Hierarch Mother's assistance, the intelligence she gave me provided me the edge I needed to counteract Advent's various 'Dark Events' and attempts to shut down XCOM's activities and the resistance movement!]_

 _{That is indeed correct… and I pleased to see that this… endeavor has proved worthwhile. I had doubts in this plan you chose… and I had very high expectations of its outcome… and you have surpassed those expectations… with flying colors. Though the rebellion is only now being noticed, the actions the Vipers have taken within the past few hours, have already crippled much of Advent's infrastructure.}_

As he watched several images of various destroyed power plants, facilities, buildings, and other things appeared on screen, spread across the globe in every Advent City.

 _{There are reports of power outages, mysterious cover ups, and rushed actions taken by Advent to hide the full scale of the rebellion you have started.}_

 _[Yes, now that I've managed to carry out my plan Council, I can move on to the next phase… gathering the last intel we need before we can let the whole world know what Advent is doing, but before I can do that… I need a Codex for my operatives to jack into.]_

 _{I will do what I can to acquire the data you need, but with the virus still affecting their military, Advent has kept the remaining Codex's hidden, at an undisclosed location, which I am still attempting to gain access to. Until I can acquire the information, your mission is to resume hitting Advent wherever, and however you can. Continue gathering the truth Commander… but be careful from here on out…}_

After that he leaned forward, and he knew that the Council was being _very_ serious.

 _{Advent… is up to something… I can report that nearly five hours ago, hundreds of transports launched from various warehouses and facilities, heading to an unknown location… but what is odd is that they all left for the same destination, at the exact same time. There appears to be some new command structure that I have… as of yet… been unable to infiltrate and gather intelligence on.}_

 _{Until next time… Commander…}_

The screen turned back to normal, showing the X-COM logo.

 _[Lovely… so Advent is up to something now that they've lost their last link to me.]_ He muttered to himself, before returning to the computer screen he was working with before.

As he continued to examine data he's received from the various resistance cells, mostly concerning how many Vipers and genetically modified Vipers have joined the resistance ranks, he watched on the cameras Amalie approaching his room.

Moments later the door opened and she slithered in, looking tired and slightly dizzy while upright.

 _[You alright Amalie?]_ He asked nonchalantly.

In response, she slithered over to his desk, opened her two earing pieces, and slid both stuffed sharks onto his desk. **"You almost forgot these…"** She hissed softly but tiredly.

He glanced at the sharks and moved his claw to turn 'Sharky' toward him. _[Your right… in the rush to get you out… I completely forgot to put them inside SHIV's compartment for safe keeping.]_ He said. _[Thanks Amalie…]_

She hissed warmly at that and moved to sit next to him in what 'would' have been his chair, and began gently rubbing the top of his Gremlin's frame. **"You know… while I was… 'under the knife' as you put it… I saw your real body in that 'full body recovery pod'."**

 _[Don't try anything… until 'I' wake up, nobody is to touch my body besides Tygan.]_ He said instantly.

" **Aww…"** She said sadly. **"And here I was hoping to… what is phrase… 'let you have your way with me'?"**

 _[Can you please let me work?]_ He grunted. _[It was hard enough keeping you a secret from 'everyone'… there were moments I almost let it slip… you didn't exactly make it easy for me either. Laughing like an evil genius from a comic book?]_

" **Well, excuse me… I thought that's how the 'bad guys' are supposed to sound!"** She hissed sarcastically. **"I thought it sounded convincing."**

He shook his gremlin slightly before moving through more mountains of data. _[So how do you feel?]_ He asked, more gently.

" **I feel… 'almost free'…"** She hissed warmly. **"I no longer have to… listen… to the Elder's commands… obey their orders…"**

 _[You only traded one 'puppeteer' for another…]_ He commented, no longer paying attention to the data as she grew more tired.

" **Perhaps… but… at least this time…"** She hissed, before gently holding his gremlin, and moved it over to sit on her mid body, where tail met torso. **"I 'chose' my puppeteer… and even if you would sever my strings my friend… I would still obey your 'every' command…"**

Without his permission, he felt her lift him up and go to lie down on the bed.

" **Can you please… sing me a lullaby my friend… I am very tired and… I love hearing you sing…"** She hissed warmly.

He let her slide onto the bed and sit there with him, before relenting and began playing a song, singing it to her to help her fall asleep.

 _[Little child… be not afraid… the rain pounds harsh against the glass… like an unwanted stranger… there is no danger…]_

 _[I am here toniiiight~]_

He registered her hand softly rubbing his gremlin's frame, stroking it lovingly and affectionately.

 _[Little child… be not afraid, though thunder explodes and lightning flash, illuminate your tear stained face… I am here toniiight~]_

 _[And someday you'll know… that nature is so… the same rain that draws you near me…]_

 _ **(Falls on rivers and land… and forests and sand… makes the beautiful world that you see…)**_ She began singing alongside him, though her voice was tired. _**(In the morning…)**_

They sang for several minutes, until the lullaby had lulled Amalie into a peaceful, gentle sleep.

But he was still singing until the final verses.

 _[In the morning…]_ He whispered as he gently pulled himself out of her embrace. _[Everything's fine in the morning…]_

He turned to her and saw her looking very peaceful and happy in his bed, breathing softly as her tail curled up under the blankets.

 _[The rain will be gone in the morning…]_ He sang softly as he pulled the blanket onto her and covered her up. _[But 'you'll' still be here… in the morning…]_

Sighing softly, he moved closer to her face and, with great care… used his Gremlin's claw to peck her on the cheek.

 _[Good night Amalie and… 'thank you'… for telling me the truth…]_ He whispered, more to himself than to her. _[And thank you… for saving me… I love you as well… my 'friend'.]_

With that he turned back to his computer and resumed working, looking at data and cataloging what Central sent him.

=Later=

He floated into the command center with Amalie behind him.

"Commander, good to see you sir." Central said. "While you were away, the various resistance cells have had their numbers increased thanks to the Vipers joining our ranks."

" **As I informed you in our your 'interrogation' Central…"** Amalie stated sarcastically. **"Speaking of which, your next interrogation should be soon, I have much to tell you before the information I have becomes… 'outdated'."**

"Yes, with your approval I'll begin debriefing the Hierarch Mother about the intel she has on various Advent facilities we can hit, as well as information about those 'special projects' we didn't hit when we had the chance." He said, walking over to the holo globe. "Also, several of Amalie's Vipers have remained under cover, working in Advent Cities across the globe to gather intel alongside our inside people. When we go to hit a location inside the cities, they'll be able to provide us detail on the exact patrols and composition, prior to hitting them."

" **Furthermore, if it becomes necessary, my daughters can smuggle one of your 'operatives'… I think you still have a 'covert operative' in your service?"** She hissed curiously. **"Should you find a need, they can smuggle your operative, into the city, and hide her among the populace until she needs to strike. They will assist her in reaching her target, but it will be up to you to extract her when the time comes."**

 _[Good, we can begin assassinating key targets like Advent High Council leaders and infiltrating key facilities with her help.]_ He said, examining the globe and seeing several intriguing targets.

" **My daughters are currently establishing a base for us to use… but until that time comes… I have… one last offer to… 'give you' my friend. Once they are set up, I will make contact through your communications, and I will guide us there to pick up the cargo and gift."** Amalie said with a grin.

 _[Well at the very least…]_ He began saying, before several alarms began flashing around them.

"Sir, the South African resistance cell is contacting us, emergency frequency!" A deck hand declared.

"Patch them in, let's see what's up!" Central said.

The globe changed to show a soldier talking to them from what looked like a run-down building, that was caving in around him.

" _X-COM… DO YOU HEAR ME?"_ The soldier yelled, his voice panicking, almost desperate to speak. _"We're under attack, we repeat… under -bzzzzzztstz- Can't hold out… -bzstztszzzzt- New… Advent General… He's unstoppable!"_

He paid close attention to the soldier as the signal began fading.

" _Can't hold out…. Will TRYAAAA -tsassssssssssht-"_

 _The screen became pure static at that moment._

 _[South Africa, what's going on!]_ He yelled as Central and the bridge staff tried getting back the signal.

=Meanwhile in South Africa, at that terminal=

" _South Africa, what's going on… COME IN SOUTH AF-"_

-Pignag- as the computer terminal was shot.

(Window View)

Sevearal MEC units marched forward in line formation, weapons firing rapidly as another row of MEC's marched in step, fifteen feet precisely behind them, weapons ready and armed. Behind that line was a third line of MEC units at 'exactly' fifteen feet behind, following the second line and scanning constantly in every direction.

(Aerial View)

As the rows of MEC units marched, through the ruins and destroyed remains of once human civilization in the jungles, all that could be seen were wrecks of destroyed positions, bodies of both humans, genetically altered Vipers, and regular Vipers lay at their positions.

Arms holding weapons, bodies cut in half by plasma weapons, limbs missing as their bodies were smashed by the unrelenting, uncaring automatons that were the 'thousands of MEC units, all marching in complete step in a direct path.

Behind the last line of MEC units were several Sectopods walking in standard low profile, their primary cannons on standby and letting the MEC's move on.

As it approached an abandoned building, a Sectopod marched on straight through it, tearing a whole in it as it and the others next to it continued to march, crushing foliage, ruins, and bodies under each of their massive and heavy footsteps.

The weapons fire continued endlessly, with each MEC firing in sequence so that when one reloaded, another fired, keeping the deadly barrage up as they continued to obey their orders.

Every time one locked on 'any' kind of movement, the location was relayed and any MEC within visual range of the target, opened fire and obliterated it. Most of their shots hit leaves, but the occasional shot would hit an innocent animal that had been trying desperately to escape the carnage and chaos that 'was' this unstoppable wave of mechanical death.

Then, all the MEC's stopped moving in unison, and all weapons fire ceased as well.

As one the horde mounted their weapons and entered standby mode.

(Resistance soldier's PoV)

He looked through his binoculars as off in the distance, the wave of MEC's stopped firing and stood motionless.

He breathed heavily as sweat fell from his forehead in droves, expecting the assault to resume.

"They've stopped…" He whispered to his buddy.

"What does that mean, they've given up?" She asked.

"No… they just 'stopped'…" He said, reaching for his communicator. "Quickly… go, we must go now! All survivors, regroup at Haven's home!"

He said on their comms, and he and his friend grabbed what weapons and ammo they had, and ran under the cover of the ruined village building, to the center building that served as 'Haven's Home'.

They ran into the building, up a flight of stairs, and into the main room where all the other survivors were gasping for breath, clutching weapons and looking desperate.

"Unstoppable… 'they're'… unstoppable!" One African said quietly, clutching his arm as it bled.

" **Never have I seen such a coordinated attack, not even by the Hiearch Mother 'or' Father…"** A genetically modified Viper said coldly, reloading her weapon. **"Their strategy… is without flaw…"**

"How surrounded are we? Do we have any way out of this trap?" He asked as he joined the group.

"Completely surrounded." An Asian girl said bitterly. "There's at least six-hundred of them surrounding the village in a full unbroken circle, and another two thousand forming a second circle surrounding the first at least sixty meters away. Each circle is backed up and complimented by ninety Sectopods, with half of them armed with new Anti-Air weaponry. We'd have to break through both to even have a 'hope' of getting away…"

There was silence as the gravity of the situation hit them all, they weren't getting out of this alive.

Not one of them.

"Did Thomas manage to contact X-COM?" Someone asked.

He shook his head quietly. "I think he managed to break through for a moment… but the building was hit seconds after… his position was overrun before any of us could try and reinforce."

"That's it then… we're doomed…" Someone else said bitterly. "Been nice knowin y'all!"

" **You humans are sssssure easy to submit to death!"** A Viper hissed, but she too looked sad.

"Oh yea, not like you have an idea on how to get out!"

" **We don't care what happens to us…"** The other Viper said, walking over to glare at the human. **"Our Mother said… that we must be prepared to die with you, and for you… if you are to accept 'us'… and so we are…"**

"Enough… Julie, can you transmit a message to X-COM?" He asked.

Julie looked at the transmitter and sighed. "I've done all I can, I've compiled all the data we managed to gather and sent it to X-COM, but they are jamming our signals… it will go… but it will take time for the transmitter to punch through the jamming signals and for the transmission to be sent."

" **How long will it take?"** The Viper asked hopefully.

"Ten minutes… at 'least'…" She said.

"So then we hold… we hold this position for ten minutes!" He yelled courageously, causing the others to look at him. "This may be the end for 'us'… but we can at least give X-COM a chance to win! We'll make sure Advent remembers… the South African Resistance Cell! If they want this transmitter blown up… then we'll make them pay for it with so big of a repair bill… it would make 'Bill Gate's' wallet cringe!"

At that all the humans beleaguered, defeated, desperate looks turned to smirks, while the two remaining Vipers merely looked confused.

 **[RESISTANCE FORCES!]** A loud mechanical voice boomed loudly.

Instantly all of them grabbed their weapons and took up positions near the windows, some heading upstairs, while some went downstairs.

He was among those that went downstairs, and he took up a position near the closed door, peeking through the cracks outside.

 **[YOUR DEFENCES ARE BROKEN, YOUR FORCES SHATTERED, AND YOUR REMAINING SURVIVORS TRAPPED!]** The voice declared. **[MAKE PEACE WITH YOURSELVES… FOR YOUR END IS NEAR… BUT KNOW THAT YOUR ENEMY IS NOT WITHOUT MERCY. HE WILL GRANT YOU… A 'SOLDIER'S' DEATH… PREPARE YOURSELVES!]**

There was silence as he waited, awaiting the heavy marching of hundreds of MEC's taking steps in unison.

Instead… all he heard was one sound.

-Tsssssst plunk-

-Tsssssst plunk-

"What's that sound?" Julie said, trying to peer through the crack of her boarded up window to see.

He listened more carefully.

-Tssssst plunk-

-Tssssst plunk-

"It sounds like… a Sectopod… a 'single' Sectopod." He said.

" **Why just one, why not 'all' of them?!"** A Viper hissed fearfully over the coms.

-Tsssst plunk-

-Tsssst plunk-

"Because they know, we can't escape… so they aren't risking any more damage to their forces…" He said to them all.

"How much longer on the transmitter?" Someone yelled.

"Eight minutes!"

-Tsssssssssssst Plunk-

-Tsssssssssssst Plunk-

The sound of the stomping footsteps was loud now, he could feel the ground shaking with each step the Sectopod was making, he could tell it was almost on top of them.

Each moment he expected it to crash through one of the buildings, or march down a street, but still all he heard were the footsteps.

"Ready everyone…" He called out, and heard weapons being reloaded and primed.

"Steady…" He said bravely.

His hands shook as the footsteps became even louder.

-Tsssssssssssst Plunk-

-Tsssssssssssst Plunk-

"Steady…" He repeated, trying to keep his hands still and trigger finger ready.

-Tsssssssssssst Plunk-

-Tsssssssssssssssssssssst Plunk-

The footsteps stopped, and they all waited with baited breaths.

"Six minutes…" Someone whispered, their voice barely heard over the coms.

His sweat was pouring down his face in droves.

"Where are they…" He whispered angrily. "Why don't they just-"

-KSSSSSSSST POOOOOOOOOOW-

The sound of a Plasma Beam ripping through concrete sounded above them, and over the coms and even above them, they heard the sound of dying humans, screaming in pain as the entire building shook from the force. Rubble poured down outside and he looked around to see that a section of the wall behind him had been blasted as well by a huge beam of Plasma.

"IT'S BEHIND US!" Someone managed to scream, before plasma rained down on the screamer, silencing them.

He and Julie ran to the hole and looked outside to see the Sectopod sent to destroy them.

It was massive, over twice the size of a normal Advent Sectopod, heavily modified with various armaments on its main body. Along the sides of its chassis were four miniature plasma weapons, designed to act as anti-personnel weaponry. Its underside carried a plasma launcher while its main body hosted the standard beam cannon that all Advent Sectopods were armed with. Along its back were two small cylinders that glowed blue, while several aiming beams were constantly moving around and searching for targets.

It was a monstrosity, nothing he had ever seen even came close to the firepower that this Sectopod was sporting.

"Open Fire!" He ordered, and trained his rifle and fired desperately at the Sectopod.

Throughout the building, what few survivors were still alive fired their weapons, focusing on the main chassis, yet their weapons did not seem to faze it, as each shot fired hit a blue shield that was protecting the Sectopod's body.

It simply stood there for a full twenty seconds, letting them waste shot after shot, as if amused by their attempts to fight back, before it trained its anti-personnel weapons and fired off a barrage of at least, sixty plasma bullets per second. The barrage ripped apart the building, and above he heard what might have been Trever screaming in agony, before the scream became a gurgled mess of silence.

" **Hyaaaaaaaaaah!"** A Viper screamed, and he watched as the Genetically modified Viper leapt at the Sectopod, landed on its main body, and fired point blank with two weapons held in each hand.

The shield protecting the Sectopod held though, and in response it trained the anti-personnel armaments at the Viper, and opened fired.

Yet the Viper reacted quickly, leaping off and letting loose with a volley of acid from her mouth, and dropping several acid grenades.

The acid had absolutely no effect on the shields, and with precise aim, the Sectopod fired and shot the Viper clean through mid-drop, cleaving her into two halves. One half landed on the floor above, while the other landed directly in front of him.

It now trained its weapons on him and Julie, and while he managed to take cover, Julie was not lucky or fast enough.

She tried to hide behind a wall, but as she did it fired a barrage of plasma bullets, and ripped a clean hole into her chest. She had a look of shock at seeing the floor through her chest… before she fell forward, bleeding profusely.

"How much longer?" He screamed over the coms.

" **Two minutes!"** The last Viper screamed in fear.

"We need to buy two minutes, everyone, spread out, do what you can to buy us two more minutes!" He yelled.

" **I'll get those two minutes, if its last thing I do!"** The Viper screamed. **"FOR MY HIERARCH MOTHER AND FATHER!"**

He leaned over his cover and resumed firing at the Sectopod, while the Viper above had leapt down and fled behind the Sectopod, firing all the way and trying to draw it away from the building.

It worked, it was forced to turn around to keep its weapons trained on the Viper, allowing him time to head upstairs to see the carnage that had occurred.

Bodies everywhere, rubble everywhere, but the transmitter was still safe and tucked away in the corner.

At that second he heard the Sectopod firing, and looked to see the Viper taking cover behind a tree, which miraculously held against the plasma storm.

Yet while it held up against the plasma weapons, it did not protect against the metal foot 'of' the Sectopod, which stomped forward, using the plasma barrage to keep her pinned. Instead of ending the fire, it kept it up until it raised its foot and crushed the tree beneath it, and with it, the Viper, who barely managed a scream of fear, before she died, unable to flee from her spot because of the plasma fire.

He tried to reach anyone on the coms, but he was alone, and as he saw the Sectopod turn toward him, train all its weapons at him, he knew he was done.

"You want a piece of me?" He yelled defiantly, picking up a fallen weapon and opening fire. "YOU WANT A PIECE OF MEEEEEEEE?!"

He fired and fired, holding down the triggers of both weapons until they emptied their clips into the shields of the Sectopod, which sat there and took all his weapon's fire.

Until his weapons were dry.

Then it trained its weapons on him.

 **[No… I want… 'no pieces' of you…]** The voice from before declared, before it powered up its main cannon… and fired.

(?'s PoV)

It looked at the evaporated remains of the last resistance soldier, and looked up at the transmitter in the corner.

It was registering a signal being sent, in thirty seconds.

He checked to ensure that all his units were still jamming the transmission.

Then he ordered them to cease.

Without further delay, the transmitter registered the source of the jamming signal broken, and immediately sent its signal.

Behind him another Sectopod marched up, registering the end of the battle.

 **[Mission accomplished… 'E.C. 1'?]** The second Sectopod requested.

 **[Yes… mission accomplished… 'C.X. 2', X-COM has received the 'intel' the resistance fought desperately to send.]** He stated. **[X-COM will 'fear' us now… all… according… to plan!]**

They both looked at the transmitter, and waited for it to declare 'Upload Complete', before firing and destroying it.

 **[All according to plan.]** They both recited once again.

=To Be Concluded in 'The Second XCOM Viper'=


End file.
